


The Wanderer

by nightlight6



Category: Shadow of the Colossus
Genre: Complete, Gen, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-20
Updated: 2014-09-20
Packaged: 2018-02-18 03:34:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 29
Words: 51,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2333735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightlight6/pseuds/nightlight6
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shadow of the Colossus from the point of view of the Colossi themselves. What were their personalities? What memories did they have? These questions and more are answered within. Originally posted on fanfiction.net from 2008 to 2010. There, it has 130 reviews, 74 favs, and 17 follows. An oldie but a goodie!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_**The Wanderer** _

Peace. There had always been peace in the land of the Colossi. Forests grew, temples grew, and the people of the Colossi also were in a time of great growth and harmony. Villages made their home around the many scattered temples of the land, and in a few places, great cities emerged. People of other lands came and went as they pleased, using the magnificent bridge that spanned from the High Entrance to the greatest temple of the Colossus Valley. This temple was probably the highest structure in the world, and was built by the Colossi themselves, with the help of their peoples' ancestors. Along the walls in the center of the Great Temple stood sixteen unbreakable statues that idolized the Colossi, and were worshipped by their people. Not only this, but each Colossus had their own place in the land, where they could exist in and aid part of their peoples' world.

_**The Western Colossi** _

_**-Valus-** _

Valus, the Minotaur Colossus, was highly protective of his home. He rarely associated with any of the other Colossi, and children knew better than to climb on him. Though nobody came to attack, Valus had carved a special club he could use, just in case. He paced his small, elevated valley almost constantly; making sure people could come to the Mountain Temple in peace. When Valus did rest, birds came to perch on his furry back, and lizards came to bask on his stone armor, undeterred by the sheer size of their colossal friend.

_**-Quadratus-** _

Quadratus, the Bull Colossus, loved children. Every day they would come to his beach to swim and to play. He would invite them to climb on his fur, use his horns and exoskeleton as a jungle gym, and play hide and seek under his hooves. If a child was sucked away by the ocean current, Quadratus was always there to calmly wade in and save them. He grieved whenever he heard that one of his old playmates had died of old age. And yet Quadratus was always happy to except the next generation of playmates to his beach.

_**-Gaius-** _

Gaius, the Knight Colossus, was a show-off. He loved to stay on his great, raised platform in the center of the lake and tell the people of his feats of strength. Gaius really had conquered enemies with a single blow, and he really did fend off evil Colossi in the Time of New single-handedly, but the Knight was no longer a valiant Colossus. Every good deed Gaius had done had gone to his head, and though he could never be a bad colossus, he was a selfish colossus. This selfishness caused his armor to go brittle, and over the centuries most of it slowly chipped away. What was left was sure to break off if he ever fought again. So Gaius stayed on his platform, always afraid someone would uncover his shame.

_**-Barba-** _

Barba, the Bearded Colossus, was not very intelligent. Though his armor was strong and his spirit pure, Barba did his job without much thought at all. As there was no where for a Colossus to live outside the Southern Desert Temple, he made his home on the inside, where it was cool and there were high ceilings. Barba was a good guardian, but he often knocked things over thanks to his clumsy nature. Other Colossi thought his beard would be a problem in the future, but as Barba could not see how, he kept it and it became part of his rather unusual identity.

_**-Hydrus-** _

Hydrus, the Sea-Serpent Colossus, was very curious. Though she slept in the sea caves on the western coast, she patrolled the entire peninsula of the Land of Colossi. Her duty was to protect their land from the sea, and for this reason she had enormous electric spikes on her back that would deter any threat that came near. But Hydrus was always fascinated with people, and loved to wander up the chasm-like rivers to watch them. She also enjoyed visiting any of the Colossi she could reach, though she never came too close for fear of shocking them. This was why Hydrus stayed away from the people, only watching them from afar, as she dutifully patrolled the sea.

_**-Basaran-** _

Basaran, the Tortoise Colossus, was secluded. He never wandered far from the geyser field that made his home, and he disliked anybody coming to visit him, Colossus and person alike. There were few trees in Basaran's domain, thanks to the gasses expelled from the geysers which blocked out the sun. But those few trees were often scorched because of Basaran, as he liked to shoot at things when he was bored. The Tortoise's duty was very simple. He was the last resort, the final great warrior, if their land was attacked by some unimaginably powerful force. This was because of Basaran's impenetrable armor and deadly electric-shooting abilities. Until then, though, the great Tortoise was content to sit in his cave, and enjoy the constant company of the earth shaking beneath his feet.

_**-Dirge-** _

Dirge, the Sand-Serpent Colossus, was very lonely. People almost never came to see him in his vast sand-filled cave, and few Colossi ever came to visit. This was probably because the tunnels coming to his cave were far too small for most of them. Dirge no longer had any duties, as his job had been finished long ago. He had been the miner of the stones that built all the great temples and other important places of their land. Dirge had completely emptied his cavern of all stone that wasn't too hard to be carved, and left behind an underground cave filled with sand. The only light came from a large hole in the roof high above his head. But during their time of peace, Dirge had no purpose, and sulked alone in his cave.

_**-Celobia-** _

Celobia, the Lion Colossus, was noble. He was noble because he watched over the great Mountain City with pride and kindness. From his perch on the tall temple in which he lived, Celobia could keep an eye on everything that happened in the City. He loved to take a break every once and a while and visit fellow Colossi, as he could reach almost all of them. Though he was only slightly larger than a horse, making him one of the smallest Colossi, all knew of his strength of body and armor. In fact, Celobia was famous for his armor, which was said to be as unbreakable as his idol. Celobia was noble, yes, but he was not selfish. He was a kind, almost humble Colossus, which to this day is believed to be the reason his armor was so strong.


	2. Chapter 2

_**The Eastern Colossi** _

_**-Phaedra-** _

Phaedra, the Horse Colossus, was kind-hearted. Despite his rather scary appearance, people and Colossi alike knew him to be one of the friendliest beings in the land. Many came to visit the green tombs which Phaedra protected, and turned what should have been a morbid duty into a happily executed one. The great Horse did not need vast amounts of armor or formidable weapons, but what armor he had was strong, and his feet were sharp. These were symbols of Phaedra's pure and content heart. Though his job was to protect the dead, the Horse felt very much alive.

_**-Avion-** _

Avion, the Eagle Colossus, was beautiful. Her armor shone like the sun she flew under, her eyes glowed a magnificent blue, and the moss that grew on her back was a luscious green. She appeared beautiful because her heart was beautiful too, and all knew of the Eagle's many acts of goodness. Though her duty was just to protect the Lake City, Avion patrolled all of the land, visiting Colossi and helping people where she could. Often the first glimpse any outsiders had of a Colossus was while they were coming over the bridge from the High Entrance, where they could see the great Eagle flying over the villages and farms. Avion would keep flying for eons, as long as she knew the people she loved were safe.

_**-Kuromori-** _

Kuromori, the Gecko Colossus, was easily angered. Though he loved to show off his electric-shooting skills in the High Arena, the Gecko had a rather bad temper with anybody who even slightly criticized him, and was known to occasionally blast people out of his area. This earned him an unfriendly place with most of the other Colossi, especially Avion. She considered Kuromori a bad Colossus and was always trying to convince the others to banish him. There had been a time when the great Gecko was noble, with armor as strong as Celobia's, but like Gaius, his selfishness and un-pureness of heart caused most of his armor to chip away. Despite his high thoughts of himself, Kuromori was probably the most grudgingly worshipped of the Colossi.

_**-Celosia-** _

Celosia, the Boar Colossus, was loyal. She guarded the Northern Desert Temple fiercely, though not as narrow-mindedly as would Valus. Her armor was as tough as her heart and mind, and the people knew of her many feats of strength in the past. Celosia was very close to her brother Celobia, and seeing one in the other's place of duty was common. In fact, Celosia was much friendlier than she appeared. When she wasn't in her area or Celobia's, the Boar was playing with the children on Quadratus' beach, or keeping Dirge company in his lonely sand cave. Celosia was beloved by all because she not just loyal to her temple, but to the entire land she called home.

_**-Pelagia-** _

Pelagia, the Masked Colossus, was unusual. He guarded the Pleasure Waterfall in many strange ways. As people relaxed and ate in the stone gazibos, they were sometimes startled when what seemed like a mossy stone in the lake rose up and moved. Pelagia sat still for so long that algae and moss covered his armor, yet his mask stayed mysteriously clean. The Masked One liked to collect stones and watch people he thought were interesting. Though, those interesting people usually never came back because they were disturbed by the feeling of being watched. Some of the Colossi thought Pelagia was unintelligent, but most knew he was just what he was. Strange.

_**-Phalanx-** _

Phalanx, the Dragon Colossus, was peaceful. She contained no capacity for hate or bitterness, and even in the Time of New when evil Colossi constantly invaded the land, the Dragon was not violent. Her job was to protect people, and even in their time of peace she was concerned with what went on in other places besides the desert she called home. Phalanx was almost as common a sight to see as Avion, flying over the villages and mountains, unable to land but content to see her people in such a time of prosperity. The great Dragon was as happy as any Colossus could possibly be.

_**-Argus-** _

Argus, the Sentry Colossus, was wary. Even in their time of peace, he remained cautious of the outside world. The Sentry kept a constant watch on everything he could see from his desert Fortress, which was surprisingly a lot. Maybe the reason he was so much at unease was the fact that they had been in the longest period of peace _ever_ **,** and Argus believed it was too good to be true. He paced and waited, but nothing ever seemed to happen. So the great Sentry continued to pace and wait, positive that something bad was coming.

And he was right.


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Beginning of the End** _

Dormin had waited. Waited for _eons_. And now was Their chance. The people were unprepared, and the Colossi were oblivious to the danger they were in. Except for Argus, but Dormin did not count him. They had planned this for millennia, and it was finally going to happen. No being could stand in Their way. The Light Colossus had been gathering energy from where They had been trapped, at the very top of the Great Temple. They had taken the form of a benevolent light, shining upon the sixteen idols of the beings they most despised. They had been able to do nothing but simmer for thousands of years, but now They had the amount of energy to do something about the land They hated. Though Dormin could not take on a solid form yet, They were now able to spread Their evil over the land, and use it to finally wipe the people who turned their backs to Them off the face of the world forever.

Malus felt something was wrong hours before the rumble began. He sensed something evil was moving through the land, but he could see nothing amiss from where he stood. At that time the Titan Colossus wished his skirt-like armor did not chain his massive feet to one spot. Malus looked cautiously over his area, not feeling reassured by the normal sight of his people walking about, not worried about anything but their usual small problems. Just when he was about to call out to one of the Colossi, to see if anything was wrong where they were, a deep rumbling came over the land. As it was strong even to a Colossus, the people's buildings stood no chance. Everywhere around the Titan wooden structures turned into twig piles, while stone structures that were not made to withstand any force besides the occasional storm were reduced to dust. People that were trapped inside collapsed buildings were killed, while people who were outside of buildings screamed and stumbled.

Malus heard loud cracking and realized the cliff-face behind him was starting to fall into the sea. Any people nearby were sucked down to their watery graves with the rocks. The Titan's energy kept the ground directly behind him from giving way, but in front of him cliffs and mountains crumbled.

This continued for one month.

When the rumbling finally stopped, Malus was shaken to the core, and would have collapsed earlier if he was not held up by his armor. Looking around, he saw that all the people in his area had long since died, and were starting to rot. With a sudden pang of sadness, the Titan realized that the rest of the land must be in a similar state. Hoping he was wrong, Malus called out for someone who would know.

"Avion!..."

Silence.

Malus feared the worst until boom-like wing-flaps started to approach. Avion came into view, soaring over one of the mountains that blocked the rest of the land from view. She landed on the ground a few hundred yards from where Malus stood and looked up at him in relief.

"You are alright! Thank the heavens."

Malus grunted, "The same is unfortunately not so for my people."

Avion looked around her claws and shivered. The Eagle looked up again, this time with grief clear in her eyes, "The whole land resembles this. The people are dead, and only the strongest of buildings still stand. I know so, because I have been avoiding landing whenever possible."

Malus nodded, "Quite understandable, as even I would have fallen down long ago if not for my armor. What about the others?"

Avion shook herself, making little pieces of rock fall off, before speaking, "Celosia and Celobia are quite shaken. Probably because of their size. I could not find Hydrus anywhere, though. She might have been sucked into an underground tunnel that opened in the quake."

Malus sighed, "I dearly hope our great Sea-Serpent is well. Do you have any idea where she possibly could be?"

Avion looked thoughtful for a minute before answering, "I remember there was an underground river that went under the City of Bridges, which opened up once. In order to prevent the city from flooding, Hydrus blocked the place where the river came into the ocean, while Dirge went underground and diverted the river to a different place. I believe that's how the ground beneath Gaius' platform became a lake."

Malus looked confused, "But Avion, what does that have to do with it?"

Avion stared up at him grimly, "It has to do with it, my dear Titan, because the ocean barrier broke. The City of Bridges is now almost completely underwater. Hydrus might have been nearby at the time and was sucked in."

Malus scoffed, "Water goes downhill, not up. How could the city become flooded if the ocean barrier broke?"

Avion shook herself again, "The land has shifted since we diverted the river."

Malus nodded, "Hmm… yes. That makes sense. What about the other Colossi? Are any of them injured?"

Avion appeared thoughtful again, "No, I do not think so. Physically, anyway. Quite a few of them have taken the death of our people very hard.

Poor Quadratus, he could not protect his children…"

Malus gave a heavy sigh, "You should go, my Eagle. Comfort those of us who need it, and search for Hydrus. When you find her, come back to me. I would like to know where she is."

Avion nodded, "Of course, Malus."

With that, the Eagle began to flap her wings and charged past Malus, jumping off the sea cliff and taking flight. When the sound of great wing-flaps ceased to be heard, the Titan looked forward, seeing the Great Temple still shining through a crack between the mountains. He sighed. As long as their statues still stood, the land would remain alive. But despite this reassurance, Malus knew the rest of the Colossi would be less willing to keep up hope.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A Pinprick on the Horizon** _

Malus was right.

Most of the Colossi sank into a state of despair. Some were guilty, others were simply depressed. Only a few kept up the belief that as long as their idols stood, the land they loved would remain alive. These Colossi were Avion, Phalanx, and Malus. Phalanx, unlike the other two, only kept up hope because it was not in her nature to despair. Avion did remain in partially good spirits, but the perpetual sadness she felt for their people showed on her exterior. As the centuries passed, the Eagle's armor ceased to shine, and the moss on her back became a dead, brown-green color. Malus most of the time was focusing on the source of everybody's negative feelings. Dormin. Malus knew that somehow, the Light Colossus had been contained. The Titan pondered for most of his days on this, and rarely called for anyone as company.

Quite a few of the Colossi's dispositions changed over time. Quadratus became sullen and moody. His gate gradually was slower as his heavy heart weighed him down. Phaedra was no longer a lively soul. The tombs he continued to guard reminded him every day of what happened and the great Horse became deeply depressed. Hydrus, like Quadratus, was weighed down by a heavy heart, and usually rested on the bottom of her lake dwelling in lonely thoughts. It did not help the Sea-Serpent that she was now trapped, either. Celosia gradually turned into an angry, vengeful being, and most of the time sat in the center of her abandoned temple, growling at anything that passed by. The Boar highly disliked anybody, even her brother, to visit. Celobia became consumed by sadness, and did not budge from his perch overlooking the empty Mountain City. The Lion's armor lost its strength, and began to chip in places.

The guiltiest of the Colossi had to be Argus. He felt so bad about not _insisting_ something was going to happen, he stuck himself in the ravine behind his fortress, and refused to come out. The great Sentry didn't even have the heart to say "I told you so".

The rest of the Colossi were content to stay in their areas and continue their duties, trying to pretend nothing had happened. Dirge became even lonelier, as Celosia had stopped coming to his cave for company. Kuromori was even angrier, and occasionally, in a burst of sudden hatred for the world, would blast a hole in the coliseum surrounding him.

This was the way things were for millennia, and nobody expected anything to change. You see, for some reason, people from the outside had stopped coming to their land. This confused the Colossi, as there was now much land for new villages and farms. And they knew it was in human nature to expand. Avion inspected the bridge crossing from the High Entrance to the Great Temple, and there was no damage to it. The only reasonable explanation was that somehow word had spread about what had occurred, and the people of the rest of the world believed the Colossus Valley was cursed.

So anyway, the land remained sad and devoid of people for thousands of years. The Colossi expected no change, and they had their reasons.

But one day, someone came in.

A familiar feeling spread through the land, one not felt for centuries. Every Colossus in the land raised their head, and looked for the source of this familiar, yet forgotten sensation. Celobia ran out of his city and climbed a nearby hill to see what was going on. Celosia jumped down from her temple onto the open ground below, and looked up. Quadratus walked out of his cave and did the same. Everywhere, Colossi tried to move to get a good view of what was causing a familiar feeling in the land.

On the horizon was a pinprick.

Those who were closer saw more clearly what it was. A lone figure sat atop of what must have been horse, and was making its way slowly and carefully over the bridge. The Colossi that realized what it was rejoiced. A person was in their land! Even if it was only one, they knew that where there was one person, more would come. It was one of the highly dependable patterns of human beings. Most of the Colossi went back to their duties, feeling a happiness they had not felt for a long time.

But one Colossus remained at her perch on a mountain-top, feeling more and more cautious about the person as she inspected them with Eagle-eyes. The person was a boy, 20-years old at most, riding a beautiful black horse with a white diamond on its forehead. The boy's clothing was obviously of a far-away people that had often come to the Colossus Valley in the past. If their customs had not changed, then Avion was sure that the light-blue and black cloak over light-leather armor symbolized being a warrior. Across his lap was a long, dark bundle. As the Eagle inspected the Wanderer she began to feel that this boy's coming was not necessarily a good thing.

And she couldn't have been more right.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Not What We Expected** _

Dust… dust….. _more_ dust… ooh, that looks like!... oh… wait… its dust….

Dormin was bored. They were starting to think eliminating the people was a bad thing. It was just too quiet now for Their liking. Even though They had gained enough power to do something again, it would be useless since no quake could ever fell a Colossus. The people were gone, which _was_ a major step in Their plan, but there was a major flaw.

One person had escaped over the bridge. Dormin was not quite sure how, but that did not matter. Whoever had escaped had spread the word about what happened, and now nobody came into Their land. Probably because they thought it was cursed. This was a major setback, as Dormin needed somebody for Their plan. And not just any somebody. Somebody with a Sun-Sword. This aggravated the Light Colossus. What were the odds of a warrior with a Sun-Sword, coming into a land which they were probably told was cursed, looking to grant an extreme wish? Not very good.

Of course, even Dormin could be surprised.

It was at that moment that the Light Colossus felt a disturbance in the valley.

" _Hmm?..._ "

Dormin turned Their focus in the direction of the bridge, looking for the source. When They found it, They gave a short laugh.

" _Ha! We have been too pessimistic! Maybe this boy is the one…_ "

Dormin then noticed a sudden uplift in the moods of the Colossi. They turned Their focus to look at a few of the ones who were close by. Celobia was now wagging his tail in a dog-like fashion, walking back to the Mountain City with a spring in his step. Valus had continued with his pacing but did appear to be happier. Dormin focused on a mountain to the east and would have grimaced if They had a physical form.

Avion did not seem to be pleased at all. The Eagle was observing the boy with growing suspicion obvious in her features. Dormin focused back on the bridge.

" _This could be a minor setback. When the ritual begins, Avion may not hesitate to do something about our little Wanderer…_ "

The Light Colossus then shifted Their focus back onto the temple floor, waiting. They could hear the click-clacking of horse hooves descending the spiral staircase. Finally, a young man on horseback entered the main chamber of which Dormin was looking upon. They watched him as he slowly crossed the chamber, taking in his every detail. The boy seemed un-daunted by the huge statues that stood on either side of him, and instead kept his eyes looking forward. The Wanderer brought his steed to a halt in front of the altar at the open end of the temple. He jumped off, then carefully took the long, dark bundle he had been carrying into his arms. Dormin watched as the boy walked up to the altar than placed his unusual cargo upon it. He stared at the bundle for a minute before dramatically ripping off the dark blanket surrounding it.

Underneath the cover was a girl, probably about the Wanderer's age. She wore a simple white dress, and had dark-brunette hair framing her face. The girl's pale, unmoving state told Dormin she was dead.

Deciding to get things moving, the Light Colossus called upon dead souls beneath the temple to do Their bidding. The black, human-esque forms crawled up through the floor, making strange sucking sounds as they did so. The horse cried out, rearing slightly. The disturbance made the Wanderer turn around to face the now advancing demons.

Dormin felt glee course through Them. The boy had pulled out a Sun-Sword, and was now pointing it at his approaching opponents. They made the souls dissipate, and spoke down.

" _Thou carry a Sword of the Sun?_ "

The Wanderer jumped slightly and looked up.

"Who are you?"

Dormin grumbled. They supposed the boy should have some explanation.

" _We are Dormin, the mighty Light Colossus, one and many._ "

"One and many? That makes no sense!"

Dormin growled, " _Why has thoust come here?_ "

The Wanderer looked back at the girl on the altar.

"Mono… she was sacrificed because they believed she had a cursed fate. I heard stories of a Forbidden Land where colossal beings roamed, and dead souls could come back to life."

Dormin laughed, " _That maiden's soul? Why would you want to bring it back?_ "

"Because I have to."

Dormin inspected the boy.

" _Hmm… very well. You see the idols along the sides of this chamber? Destroy them, and your wish will be granted._ "

The Wanderer nodded, then began to look around for something he might be able to break the statues with.

" _But…_ "

The Wanderer looked up.

" _The idols can not be destroyed by mortal hands…_ "

"Then what am I to do?"

" _There are incarnations of these idols. Colossi. If thoust kill them, their statues will fall…_ "

"But I have heard of Colossi! They are huge! How could I possibly hope to defeat one?"

Dormin was getting annoyed. Humans always needed long explanations in order to understand things.

" _The sword in your hand is quite capable of felling such beings… I must warn you though; the consequences of completing this ritual may be dire…_ "

The Wanderer looked determinedly back at Mono.

"It does not matter."

If Dormin had a physical form, They would have grinned.

Things were going _exactly_ according to plan.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Shattered** _

Avion soared over the Western Mountains, cold suspicion filling her mind. Why would a warrior from the Wandering people come to their land? By himself, for that matter. And what was in the long, dark bundle he carried? The Eagle had a feeling in her gut that the reason for the boy's coming was not as positive as the others thought. Avion landed carefully on one of the ancient, broken bridges floating in Hydrus' lake. The Sea-Serpent swam up from the depths and rested her head near Avion's feet. In a low, gurgly, yet obviously feminine voice, Hydrus spoke,

"Avion, what is the disturbance in our land? It is so familiar…"

The Eagle sighed, "A boy of the Wandering people has come over the bridge on horseback. He is a warrior, by the looks of his clothing."

A spark ran down Hydrus' spikes, "This is wonderful! We must welcome him with all the warmth in our-"

"It is not wonderful, Hydrus! I can not be sure, but my soul is telling me that this Wanderer is not here for good reasons…"

The Sea-Serpent huffed, "You are too paranoid, Avion. Why would a boy come by himself to our land to do bad things?"

The Eagle sighed again, "It has something to do with Dormin, I think. That foul creature is up to something."

"Hmph. If you don't mind, could you bring your pessimism somewhere else? I wish to try and clean up my city for our visitor."

Before Avion could say another word, Hydrus had slipped her head back into the water, and was swimming across the lake to the closest bridge.

Valus paced. Unlike the other Colossi who had seen the Wanderer, the Minotaur did not feel the need to clean or prepare. He believed that their visitor would be most impressed if he was just doing what he was supposed to.

After a while, Valus felt the familiar feeling within his presence. Glancing down as he continued his pacing, the Minotaur saw the boy trying to hide behind a rock, and not doing very well. Valus chuckled to himself.

"He will get used to our size eventually…"

The Minotaur continued his walk. But suddenly, out of the blue, there was a pressure on his left calf. Valus instinctually shook it, not knowing what was gripping him but wanting it off. A sharp pain then shot through his leg, bringing him to his knees. Bewildered and injured, Valus stood up and looked around. He hardly noticed the strange pressure climbing up his rear than disappearing.

The Minotaur cautiously continued pacing. It was then he realized the pressure was climbing up his back. Valus shook, hoping to fling whatever was climbing him to the ground so he could squash it. Despite his efforts, the thing had come to his head. The Minotaur's thoughts were violently interrupted when the worst pain he had ever felt claimed his mind. Valus shook for all he was worth, but the pain continued to come forth, slowly blinding him.

Finally, numb and breathless, the Great Minotaur collapsed. The club fell from his hand. In his last, darkening seconds of consciousness, Valus saw the Wanderer standing before him, covered in blood.

Avion screeched in mid-flight, a foreign pain wrenching her heart. A slight empty feeling was what was left afterwards. Stopping to land in the Light Garden atop the Great Temple, the Eagle pondered at the sensation. Feeling a strange inclination pulling her, Avion stepped forward, and looked down into a hole that opened into the main chamber. The Eagle screamed, her cry being heard across the land. Avion could hardly bare to look at the horrible sight that lay below her.

One of the idols had shattered.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A Plan of our Own** _

Quadratus looked up, startled. Many other Colossi also faced the Great Temple, confused about both the screech and the empty feeling in their chests. Avion stumbled away from the hole and clumsily took off, flying southward. Landing at the Mountain Temple, the Eagle looked around frantically.

"Valus?! Valus, where-"

Her eyes fell on the Minotaur shaped pile of rocks in the center of the canyon.

"VALUS!"

Avion came over to the pile, looking down at it sadly.

"Valus…. Great Minotaur… we are sorry…"

A loud hiss sounded from above. The Eagle looked up to see Kuromori standing atop the cliff face to her left. In a scratchy, hissing voice, the Gecko spoke.

"What has happened here?!"

Watching Kuromori climb down and approach the rock pile, Avion responded.

"Valus is dead. His idol has shattered. The Wanderer is to blame, surely."

Unlike the other Colossi the Eagle had spoken to lately, the Gecko was easy to convince.

"WHAT?! Oh… when I get a hold of that boy, he is dead meat!"

Avion shook her head, "No, Kuromori. We must think this through. Why is this young man after us? And, more importantly, how do we stop him? Blindly trying to destroy the boy will get us nowhere, I think."

The Gecko's eyes flared red, "It's always _thinking_ with you! I say we team up and find a way to obliterate him! Throw him off a cliff! Anything to wipe him off this world!"

Avion huffed, "You know what, Kuromori? I'm going to go talk to somebody with common sense."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

With that final statement, the Eagle took off and began to fly northward. She screeched when a yellow blast shot past her head, but did not turn back. She would deal with that putrid lizard later. As Avion flew to her new destination, she called forth the birds of the land.

"Go to the Colossi, my friends. Tell them of this tragedy, and to prepare not for a welcome visitor, but for an enemy."

One of the doves looked towards the Eagle, "But Avion, where will you go?"

The Lake Guardian kept her eyes forward, "I have somebody I need to visit…"

The birds separated, knowing without speech who was going where. Landing on the ground in front of the Northern Desert Temple, the Eagle looked up.

"Celosia? Could you come out please?"

Said Colossus walked slowly to the cave entrance and glared down. In a rough yet feminine voice, Celosia spoke.

"What do you want, Avion?"

"I have terrible news. Have you seen the Wanderer?"

Celosia looked annoyed, "Yes. I was just out collecting some wood for the temple fires so my place would look a little better for our visitor. What of him?"

Avion sighed, "I am afraid his reasons for being here are not innocent. He killed Valus."

Celosia jumped down and looked up at the Eagle in shock and rage.

"What?! No, it's impossible! He's just a boy!"

Avion stared solemnly back at the Boar, "That 'boy' has the power to destroy one of us. And if he can destroy one, then he may be able to do so to the rest of the Colossi."

Celosia growled and began to pace, "Then we must do something! We must… er… throw him off a cliff! Yes, that's perfect!"

"No its not! Kuromori had this same problem. We must work together to find a way to run him off. Killing him will only tarnish our souls!"

The Boar huffed, "Avion, now is not the time for your peacekeeping nature. If this Wanderer thinks he can just come here and try to kill us, then he has another thing coming!"

"I'm getting nowhere… good-bye, Celosia."

"Hmph."

Not wanting to tick-off the easily angered Colossus further, Avion took off. Obviously she was going to have to find someone else to talk to if they were going to form a plan of their own.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Underestimated** _

"Um, Pelagia? What exactly are you doing?"

The Masked One looked up from his handiwork.

"Oh! Hello my fine, not-so-feathered friend! I was just adding some stones that fell off of the Waterfall Arch to my collection!"

Pelagia gestured to the rock pile that was so large it poked a few yards out of the water ( A/N: I know there is no such feature there, but it goes better with the story, so just bear with me).

Avion, from her perch atop of one of the gazebos, nodded in a confused manner.

"I see… well, have you heard the news about Valus?"

Without looking up, the Masked One responded. "Yes! I have! It's terrible!"

The Eagle blinked. "But… what do you think we should do?"

"Don't know! Oh! Wait! I do! Throw the boy off a cliff! That always works with humans! Not that I've thrown any people off a cliff, but you get the point!"

Avion sighed. "Almost every Colossus I've talked to suggested that. Any other ideas?"

Pelagia looked thoughtfully at his rock pile.

"I know! I've got to add more rocks to my collection! That will solve all our problems!"

"What?! But _how_?!"

_As Avion deals with Pelagia…_

"Hmph. Having to hide in my cave. Embarrassing…"

Quadratus had heard from a bird that Valus was dead. It also said that he should hide so the Wanderer couldn't find him. Did the other Colossi have to hide? No. They got to stay outside where they could reap vengeance by their own will, while he had to hide like a coward from a child! What could a boy possibly do to him? Valus was weak and simple-minded. That's the only reason he could have fallen by the Wanderer's hand.

So the Bull stayed cooped up in his cave, alone with his rather vehement thoughts.

Soon, though, he heard the sound of galloping horse hooves above. Wanting to show he was most certainly _not_ a coward, Quadratus banged into the walls of his home, shaking the ground above. With satisfaction, he heard frightened horse whinnies. Maybe the Wanderer would turn back. But to the Bull's disappointment, the sound of horse hooves continued. After a while, the outline of a young man on horseback appeared through one of the cracks in Quadratus' door.

" _Don't be a coward, Quadratus…don't be weak like the Minotaur…_ "

Dormin is right, the Bull thought. I am _not_ weak…

With anger coursing through him, Quadratus rammed his door to pieces and walked out into the sun. He looked down menacingly at the Wanderer. The boy stared back for a second before vigorously kicking his horse into motion. Quadratus followed, waiting for the creature to slip or stop so he could squish them. Eventually, the Wanderer ran out of beach. The Bull's eyes flared red as he reared up on his hind legs and brought his front ones down with great force only a few feet away from the boy. The Wanderer was thrown off his horse as the black creature reared and galloped off. Quadratus allowed the boy to get back on his feet before repeating the earlier action. This time, though, the Wanderer pulled out a wooden contraption and shot something at the underside of his hoof.

Pain flared through the Bull's foot. By instinct, Quadratus curled his legs underneath him and brought the injured hoof in front of his face for inspection. Seeing nothing, he stood back on all four legs. It was then he realized there was something crawling up his front leg. The Bull shook it, trying to get rid of the pesky creature. But soon, the thing was going down his side to the rear, where Quadratus knew full well was a vital. How though? He thought. How could this boy know where my weak points are?

The Bull's thoughts were interrupted by a searing pain enveloping the back half of his body. Quadratus shook, his anger starting to be overtaken by fear. Eventually, the pain stopped, leaving the Bull's entire backside numb. The Wanderer was now jumping over his exoskeleton, heading for the head. The boy came to his last vital and almost immediately began stabbing. Quadratus shook desperately, trying with all his might to get rid of the thing attacking him, killing him. But the darkness was closing in rapidly, and soon the Bull collapsed on his side, feeling totally numb.

In his last moments of consciousness, Quadratus saw not his bloodied assailant standing before him, but a child who needed snatching from the waves.

_Meanwhile…_

Avion was flying away from the Pleasure Waterfall, shaking her head.

"How could any Colossus be so _clueless_?"

Her further thoughts were interrupted by a heart-wrenching sensation that filled her chest, leaving an even emptier feeling behind.

"No!"

Avion flew faster in the direction of the Great Temple, intending to see whose idol had shattered. But as she flew over Quadratus' beach, she stopped.

And screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A Tower in the Mist** _

"Yeesh, Avion, you don't have to scream that loud…"

The Eagle landed on the beach next to the Bull-shaped sand dune that was Quadratus. She looked up to see the Gecko standing upon the dune, staring down at her in an annoyed fashion.

"Kuromori, get off of Quadratus' body. You are being highly disrespectful."

The Gecko did not obey and instead sneered at Avion.

"What are you, my mother?"

The Eagle let out an aggravated sigh. "No, but it really is disrespectful to stand upon Quadratus' grave in such a manner."

Kuromori scoffed. "That _cow_ won't get a snippet of respect from me. I mean, how ironically pathetic is it that he was felled by a child? _Very_ if you ask me."

Avion's eyes flared red. "Kuromori! Do not speak of our great Bull like that! You bring shame on us all with your words!"

"Hmph. Well, before I leave, I just wanted to let you know that the Wanderer is going after us in an order. I know what it is, but I do not feel in the mood to tell you right now."

With that, the Gecko climbed the nearest cliff face and was out of sight in seconds.

Avion would have growled if she had the ability. "How can that lizard be so selfish? Hiding valuable information that could help us just because of our vendetta…"

_Meanwhile…_

Gaius sighed contentedly. _Finally_ he could get some rest. The Knight laid his head upon the comfortable stone of the platform in the center of his… well… platform. After a while, though, Gaius heard splashing below. He decided to ignore it for the sake of sleep. The Knight had tried to rest earlier, but a hawk had come by and disturbed him, trying to tell him something. Gaius had shaken off the bird and shooed it. Now he was becoming annoyed. The sound of footsteps was starting to run along the path underneath the edge of his platform. When the footsteps came up onto the grass of the platform itself, Gaius had had enough.

The Knight pushed his sword arm into the ground and rose to full height, his joints creaking loudly. To the Wanderer, he must have appeared as a giant tower standing in the mist. Looking down, Gaius saw a boy with sword in hand, staring up at the Knight in obvious terror. Angered by the cause of the disturbance, Gaius walked forward, causing the Wanderer to start sprinting around the rim. The Knight lifted his sword-of-an-arm and thrust it into the ground only feet away from the intruder. The boy quickly ran behind him as he tried to pull his sword out of the dirt. Gaius turned around to see the Wanderer running over the central platform he had been just sleeping on. The Knight once again tried to smash the little annoyance, but when his sword hit the stone, the vibrations made part of his arm-armor crumble.

This angered the Colossus further, and his eyes flared red. The boy had been watching this, and seemed to hatch a plan. Continuing to run from Gaius, the Wanderer brought his fingers to his lips and let out a sharp whistle. The Knight growled and once again thrust his sword into the dirt. This time, though, while Gaius tried to free his sword, the boy climbed up it and latched onto his arm. Once his arm was free, the Knight noticed a crawling sensation going up his fore-arm and onto his shoulder. Gaius shook, hardly noticing that the annoyance was no longer scampering about below him. Suddenly, a blinding pain erupted from his head. The Knight was shaking now with all his might, but soon it was over. Gaius felt extremely lightheaded, and practically stumbled as he walked. His attacker dropped down his back, and eventually fell onto a small platform surrounding his torso. The Knight tried to look down, but could see nothing. When excruciating pain shot through his stomach, Gaius began desperately twisting and swinging himself, but to no avail. Blackness closed in, and the great Knight numbly collapsed upon the central platform. His last thoughts were,

"Well… at least now… no one will disturb my sleep…."

Avion faltered in mid-flight. The empty feeling in her chest had suddenly expanded.

"No… not again…"

The Eagle landed clumsily in the Northern Desert, partially ignoring the annoyed growl that came from not far below.

"Who was it this time?..."

Avion called out to a hawk flying above. The bird landed on the Eagle's shoulder.

"What is it, Greatest of Raptors?"

Avion sighed. "I am afraid my task for you is grim. I have just felt the death of another Colossus. Find him… or her… and come back to me afterwards."

The hawk nodded. "Of course, Avion."

With that, the bird took to the sky. The Eagle sighed and walked over to the edge of Celosia's canyon. Its inhabitant was down by her pool of water, getting a drink. Celosia looked up at Avion, and the Lake Guardian expected to see the usual vehemence in her features. But instead, the Eagle saw vulnerability.

The great Boar was terrified.


	10. Chapter 10

_**To Guard the Living** _

"Oh _please_ wake up, Phaedra!"

The Horse huffed, but did not move otherwise.

"Phaedra, you are being childish. I only want to talk!"

The Horse's eyes turned blue, and he shifted his legs a little.

"What do you want, Avion?"

The Eagle looked up at Phaedra, who was now sitting on his flat sleeping platform.

"Have you heard of the deaths of Valus, Quadratus, and Gaius?"

The Horse suddenly appeared saddened. "I had heard of our Great Minotaur and Bull, but not the Knight. He has fallen also?"

Avion sighed. "I am afraid so. The worst part is that we have no idea how to stop our assailant. That vile Colossus Kuromori says he knows the order in which the Wanderer is going after us, but he wouldn't tell me."

Phaedra's eyes flashed red. "That putrid lizard. You should drag him by the tail to Malus so he can be forced to tell!"

The Eagle chuckled slightly. "I doubt that would work. Kuromori would blast off my claws before we were half way there!"

The Horse huffed again. "Well, _somebody_ has to do something! This Wanderer is clearly much more powerful than he appears, and is a threat to our existence!"

Avion nodded. "Exactly. What do you think we should do?"

The Eagle stiffened, expecting the usual "throw the boy off a cliff" response.

"He is going after us for a reason, surely. Than all we must do is give him what he wants! Killing the Wanderer will only scar our souls, no matter how much he deserves it."

Avion blinked. "R-Really?"

Phaedra nodded. "Of course! Now, we will need to have someone spy on the boy. Not a Colossus, they're too-"

"Wait, you _don't_ want to kill him?!"

The Horse looked surprised. "What, do you?"

Avion would have appeared ruffled if she had feathers. "Of course not! It's just… and you… and everybody… um… wow, wonderful! Wonderful! I will send some doves to stay in the main chamber of the Great Temple, since that is where the Wanderer is coming from. If they find out anything of importance, I will be the first to know."

Phaedra gave a satisfied snort. "Very good. Now, my dear Eagle, would you be so kind as to let me have some peace and quiet?"

The Eagle shook herself, embarrassed. "Oh. Yes! My apologies for keeping you from sleeping."

The Horse nodded and his eyes went black, showing he had drifted off.

Avion sighed and carefully took off, flying out of the luscious, green canyon. She called a group of doves and gave them their orders, all the while with an eerie feeling in the back of her mind.

_So much worry…So much sadness…_

Phaedra sighed. He had so much weighing on his mind it affected him physically, making the Horse tired and in want of rest. To calm himself, he listened to the songs of birds passing by, the rustle of leaves on leaves in trees, the sound of lizards skittering over rocks, and… the footfalls of a horse?

The Horse shifted slightly, making his hearing even more acute. Coming down the path into the canyon was a hoofed creature, obviously a horse from the way its steps came in a nervous and graceful fashion. Phaedra heard someone mumbling to himself upon the horse, and peaked his sense of the ears higher.

"After this, Agro, I am a quarter of the way through. Only a quarter, but still… I did not think I could get this far. What do you think this one'll be?"

The horse did not respond.

"Oh… right… you can't talk. This blasted place is making me insane…"

The footfalls became more pronounced as "Agro" walked around the hill-like tombs, approaching where Phaedra rested at the back of the canyon.

When the intruders were close enough, the Horse's eyes turned blue, allowing him to take in the sight before his hooves. There near his feet stood a black horse with a boy of the Wandering tribe upon its back.

_The Wanderer…_

Phaedra, joints creaking, brought his legs beneath him and stood, balancing easily on his pointed hooves. The Horse glared down at the boy, giving him a clear message to _leave_. Agro was already starting to shy away, giving terrified whinnies. When Phaedra began to step forward, the Wanderer kicked his horse into action, cantering away from the platform towards the tombs. The Death Guardian followed at a reasonable pace, only intending to scare the boy out of his land.

Suddenly, the Wanderer jumped off his horse and began running by himself in the direction of one of the tombs. He ran around to the entrance side and dove in. Enraged at seeing his place of duty intruded, Phaedra walked up to the tomb and began to rear, bringing his hooves down violently upon the raised ground. The Horse had completely put aside his noble beliefs and intended to kill. Phaedra stopped rearing and walked around to the entrance side of the tomb. Leaning down, the Horse looked into the hole, checking to see if the Wanderer was sufficiently shaken to death.

To the contrary, as Phaedra soon found out, the boy was quite alive. He jumped onto the reign-like stones that drooped off of the back of Phaedra's head. The Horse gave a startled snort and got back into standing position. Meanwhile, the Wanderer continued to jump upwards, grabbing notches in Phaedra's head armor. When the Horse felt something crawl onto the exposed fur of his cranium, he shook. The Wanderer, not expecting it, was thrown onto Phaedra's back. The boy was stunned for a few seconds, but quickly got back on his feet and began running about on the Horse's back, looking for vitals. Phaedra, not waiting for the Wanderer to figure out where his only vital was, began to rear and buck. Despite his efforts, the boy was now running up to his neck. Before he could shake again, Phaedra felt a piercing pain in his neck, numbing the nerves temporarily so his head came down. By the time he could raise his head, it was too late. Even worse pains began to split open his brain, blinding him. Phaedra shook desperately, trying with all his might to get rid of his attacker. Trying to guard his life.

But to no avail.

The world became without feeling or emotion as the Horse fell. His world turning dark, Phaedra looked past his assailant, who crouched before him panting. There, standing upon the closest tomb, was the black horse. They locked eyes for an instant. In his last moments of life, Phaedra knew what Agro thought.

_I am sorry… Great Horse…_

Avion once again felt a piece of her heart implode. Landing on a ridge in the south-eastern mountain range, she looked about.

_Where could…?_

"Hey, Feathers-for-Brains!"

The Eagle grimaced and looked down at where the voice had come from.

"What do you want, Kuromori?"

The Gecko climbed up the cliff face from the ravine he had been sunbathing in and spoke in a taunting voice.

"I know something you do not, la-la-la-la-la…"

Avion's eyes flashed red. "Stop acting so immature, you putrid lizard. What do you know?"

Kuromori snickered. "You'll have to be nicer to find out."

The Eagle sighed, annoyed. "Fine… will you tell me _please_?"

The Gecko laughed. "That's more like it! Hmm… I was passing by Phaedra's canyon when I heard the most _dreadful_ ruckus. When I looked inside, our Horse was jumping about, a little boy sitting atop his head stabbing away! I knew Phaedra was weak. After all, who would take such a _tedious_ duty as guarding the dead? In the end though, it turns out he wasn't that great at guarding the living, either."

Before Avion could claw his eyes out, Kuromori scurried down the cliff side, out of sight.


	11. Chapter 11

_**High Priestess** _

"Ooh… wow, Avion! You look bee-oo-tee-full!"

The Eagle laughed, loving how her young companion pronounced each "big word" carefully. Several people working on the lake looked up and smiled at the Colossus' laughter.

Avion peered down from her perch into the water, studying her reflection.

"You are right, Arna! Your necklace heightens my beauty at least ten fold!"

The girl that sat on Avion's shoulder grinned. "Really? You like it? It took me hours to make, since it takes a ton of flowers to make a necklace for a Co-la-soos."

The Eagle laughed again. "Colossus, dear, Colossus. Well! Thank you very much for this gift. I will wear it as long as it lasts."

Arna smiled before looking up at the sky. "Avion? What time is it?"

"A little after noon. Why?"

The girl began to appear panicked. "Today is a special day at Quadratus' beach! Celosia and Celobia are coming, and all the children are going to be there! There's going to be an ob-stee-cool course, and races, and other stuff! And I'm late!"

Avion shook her head, marveling at how Arna could pronounce the names of Colossi perfectly, but had a hard time with other words. Sometimes she barely understood why the girl was destined to be someone of importance.

"Well then, I will just have to get you there myself! Hold on!"

Arna gripped the moss on Avion's shoulder tightly as the Eagle took off, flying up and out of the canyon containing the Lake City.

The girl relaxed as the flight evened out, Avion gliding on air thermals.

"Avion?"

"Yes, Arna?"

The girl fingered the hem on her grayish-green dress, looking nervous.

"I was wondering… why were you chosen to be my childhood guide?"

The Eagle stared back at her companion. "Because we had a bond. And we still have one."

Arna nodded. "I know that, but… _why_?"

Avion thought carefully for a minute before answering. "When a girl or boy is destined to be someone of importance, they become drawn to a Colossus. That Colossus teaches them the ways of the world, and is a friend for life. Only one Colossus can have a child at any time."

The girl's eyes widened. "I'm going to be im-pour-tant?"

Avion nodded. "Yes. We can not be sure how, just yet. But I will be with you every step of the way, as is my duty and my wish."

Arna grinned. "I know you will. Can you sing me my song?"

The Eagle laughed. "Of course, dear. Ahem…

_There once was a princess_

_So sweet and sure_

_With hair of black_

_And teeth of white_

_Her clear complexion_

_Was pure perfection_

_With barely a pimple_

_In sight…_

As Avion continued with additional verses, people working on the farms and in the villages looked up, smiling at the Eagle's beautiful voice. Arna giggled, adding to the sweet melody drifting down on the land. With perfect timing, just as the song was finished, Avion landed on Quadratus' beach. Many children ran over, greeting Arna and her guardian happily. The girl jumped off of the Eagle and began to play tag with her friends. Avion watched for a minute, highly content, before looking up to see Celobia walking up to her. Celosia was slightly in the distance, playing gently with some older children. Quadratus was nearby, laughing heartily as little ones climbed on him. Just as Celobia stopped before Avion, a child sprinted over and leaped onto his back. The boy waved his hand in front of the Lion's eyes, grinning ear to ear.

"Tag! You're it, Celobia!"

The Lion chuckled. "I don't count, Turo. Try tagging Arna, she's got sky-legs from flying."

Turo jumped off and began to chase Arna, who screamed with laughter. Celobia looked up at Avion.

"Hmm… nice necklace."

The Eagle laughed. "Is it not beautiful? Arna made it for me. They're the last blooms of spring, I think."

Celobia glanced over at the girl, who was now "It", and was chasing the children alternately.

"She's going to be a priestess. I can tell."

Avion scoffed. "You can not be so sure, my Lion. There are other positions in this land that hold potential for greatness."

Celobia shook his head. "Have you noticed how attentive she is to the Colossi? She visits all of us, even Basaran! And that old Tortoise usually hates company! It is a sign of a high priestess in the making, I think."

The Eagle chuckled. "We shall see, Celobia. We shall see."

Celosia chose that moment to run over, kicking up sand in her wake. When she stopped, the Boar gazed up at Avion, her eyes a bright, happy blue.

"Avion! Are you going to join us? We were about to set up the obstacle course, and having another Colossus around would be helpful."

The Eagle nodded. "Of course, Celosia."

The festivities lasted long into the evening, and when the last race had been won, all the children were slumping over in a sleepy fashion. The parents of little ones came and retrieved them by horse-back, while older children walked home themselves. Anybody who lived too far away to walk was placed on Celosia and Celobia's backs and carried off. Arna walked up to Avion, who was talking with Quadratus, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Avion?"

The Eagle looked down. "Yes, dear?"

Arna yawned. "Can you take me home?"

Avion nodded and leaned down so the girl could climb back onto her shoulder. Saying goodbye to Quadratus, the Eagle took off. Trying to be careful with her sleepy companion, Avion flapped as slowly as possible. After gliding through the night sky for a few minutes, the Eagle landed in the village that sprawled along the sea-cliff edge outside of the Lake City. She walked up to the house that belonged to Arna's family and gently nudged the girl onto the ground with her beak. Arna's mother ran out and picked up her daughter. Looking up at Avion, the woman bowed.

"Thank you, Great Eagle."

With that, she went back into the house, leaving a tired but content Avion standing outside. The Eagle took off, careful not to hit anything, and flew the short distance to her column perch in the center of the Lake City. Tucking her head under her wing, Avion drifted off to sleep, her dreams full of happy days like the one she just experienced.

The Eagle stared at the stone.

One of the many now worn and non-noticeable stones that stood in the green fields of the south-east. Long ago, there had been writing on the stones. Writing that was maintained every so often so it could be readable. Now though, there were no people to maintain the stones, so the words had eroded away. But Avion remembered very clearly what had been written on the stone that stood before her, as she had visited it everyday.

_Here lies High Priestess Arna_

_She who lived 96 years_

_She who was respected by all_

_She who was guided by the Great Eagle_

_She who will be remembered as long as this scripture remains intact_

_For her heart now lies in stone_

Avion shook her head.

"No. She will be remembered much longer than that. Much longer."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Particles** _

"And then he just left! He LEFT!"

Avion was furious. She was shaking all over, and her eyes were a constant red.

Celobia sighed. "My Eagle, you must have patience with him. It's not his fault he's so… err… _headstrong_."

Avion practically screeched. "HE CALLED PHAEDRA WEAK! Am I supposed to take that sitting down?!"

The Lion considered the Eagle calmly, remaining completely still in his lounging position on the top of the crumbling temple.

"Hmm… I suppose we should reprimand him somehow…"

"YOU THINK?!"

"But…"

Celobia trailed off, appearing thoughtful. Avion stared up at him impatiently.

"There are no 'buts'! That putrid lizard deserves punishment! Sooner rather than later would be nice!"

The Lion nodded. "I agree, Avion. But we must be careful. If the Colossi put too much effort into deciding Kuromori's punishment, then we will loose sight of the real problem at hand! Also, why did you come to me? Malus is the one in charge of these things."

The Eagle grimaced. "I couldn't get to him. There is a mental barrier surrounding his area."

Celobia stood and gracefully jumped down to stand at Avion's feet.

"Then it is best if we figure this out ourselves. For now, have you talked to any other Colossi who wish to dispose of the Wanderer peacefully?"

Avion gave a sad sigh. "Phaedra believed that violence is not the answer, but he is gone now."

The Lion looked down at his paws. "What of my sister?"

The Eagle chuckled emptily. "Celosia wanted to throw the boy off a cliff. You should know she is no longer a peaceful spirit."

Celobia sighed and began to pace. "Have you spoken with Phalanx? Pelagia?"

Avion shook herself. "I tried talking to Pelagia, but he made little sense. And as for Phalanx, she remained hidden in the sand. I could feel her presence, though."

The Lion nodded thoughtfully, still pacing. "I will find someone who is willing to go talk to our Dragon. As for you, my Eagle, you should get some rest."

"Of course, Celobia."

With that, Avion carefully took off, avoiding the crumbling buildings of the Mountain City. She pointed her nose to the east, to the Lake City, flying home for what felt like the first time in a long while.

"What the…?"

As Avion flew towards her place of duty, she spotted a moving black dot below, heading in the same direction.

_The Wanderer…_

She waited, circling, as the boy dismounted and began to swim out to the partially submerged palace at the front of the Lake City. The city itself had been mostly made of floating wooden structures, which is why the lake was now empty except for stone remnants of older parts of the palace and a thin yet sturdy column in the center, which acted as Avion's perch. The entire lake was surrounded by high cliff faces, making for darkness at many parts of the day.

Avion began to descend as the Wanderer continued to climb higher through the palace. When the boy came to a worn balcony facing the lake, he stopped. He looked around, confused as to where his foe was, but it did not last long. Finishing her descent, the Eagle flew directly overhead, crying out to get the Wanderer's attention, and circled around the edge of the lake. Avion finally landed on her perch and settled, folding her wings and adjusting her footing, before turning a fierce glare towards the intruder.

_Come out here, you wretched boy. I_ _ dare _ _you._

The Wanderer stayed where he was, seemingly contemplating how to go about. After a few minutes, he jumped through a broken corner of the balcony and landed in the water. Avion watched as the boy swam towards her, wondering what he was doing. When the Wanderer was beneath her, the Eagle became amused.

_Is he going to try and jump on my tail?_

Avion watched, chuckling slightly, as the boy began to try jumping out of the water towards her tail. After a while though, he seemed to realize that wouldn't work. The column Avion perched on was tall enough so that her long tail did not even come close to dipping in the water. Tired, the Wanderer swam over to one of the platforms that sat underneath the arch-like palace parts. The platforms had once been stone supports for bridges underneath the palace. He stood, panting, and examined Avion. Finally, an idea came to him. Pulling out a flexible branch-like object and a sharp-looking stick, the Wanderer fired at the Eagle's shoulder. Enraged, Avion swooped down at him, screeching. The boy must not have expected that to happen, as his eyes widened and he tried to duck before being thrown full force into the water 20 yards behind him.

Satisfied, Avion began to fly around the perimeter of the lake, watching from a distance as the Wanderer struggled back onto one of the platforms. This time though, he had a look of determination on his face. Once again, the boy pulled out his sharp-stick shooting device and fired at Avion as she flew overhead. Infuriated at her persistent attacker, the Eagle turned around and once more swooped down at the Wanderer. Instead of trying to dodge like last time, the boy jumped on to Avion's mossy shoulder.

Realizing her intruder was now literally upon her, the Eagle began to flap her wings in a strong fashion, trying to shake him off. But flapping like that took energy, and soon Avion was gliding to rest her muscles. As she glided, she felt something walking down her tail. Suddenly, as the movement stopped, a piercing pain erupted from the tip of her tail. Avion screeched and began twist and turn in the air. After a few minutes, the area numbed and the Eagle felt her attacker walking back up her tail. When the Wanderer was starting to come onto her wings, Avion began to violently flap them. When she stopped, the boy was still there. He took advantage of the Eagle's pause and ran to her right wing tip. When the same stabbing feeling went through her wing, Avion mustered all her strength and proceeded to fly in a loop. Her attacker hung on for dear life as the Eagle went temporarily upside down. When her flight evened out, though, the stabbing continued. By the time the Wanderer finished, Avion was struggling to use her now limp and numb right wing. The boy ran across her back to her other wing. The Eagle knew she was done for, but that did not mean she was going to give up. As the stabbing began to ruin her left wing, Avion flapped for all she was worth. But when that wing finally gave out, the Eagle plummeted to the water.

As she sank, every sense of Avion's dimmed except for her eyesight. She could see every living being… every mountain… every particle of anything. But as her eyes began to dim as well, the Eagle could see a face that did not belong to her assassin. In her last moments, Avion saw only the face of young Arna.

And she was happy.

Kuromori was sunbathing in his arena, not thinking about anything in particular, when a piercing sensation hit his heart. Allowing his eyes to turn blue with sight, the Gecko climbed up to the top of the coliseum and looked out across the mountains. Kuromori was just starting to wonder who had been killed when he was given his proof.

Every bird in the land had started to cry.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Stubborn** _

"Well, what am _**I**_ supposed to do about it?"

Kuromori was becoming annoyed. Why was Celobia asking _him_ to talk to that overgrown worm with wings? If she wanted to hide underground, that was her problem. Not his.

The Lion sighed. "Maybe some… _provocative_ words will get our Dragon to speak."

"Hmph. I don't see how that will work. She can't feel negative emotions, remember? I believe annoyance falls under that category."

The Gecko noticed that Celobia was starting to become annoyed himself.

"Well, _somebody_ has to talk to her. It can not be me, since I have to go talk to my sister. Who else can you think of that could possibly rouse Phalanx?"

Kuromori grimaced. He could not think of any. "Fine. I'll try and talk to her. Happy?"

The Lion sighed sadly and began to ascend the staircase out of the arena.

"Far from it, my dear Gecko, far from it."

_An hour later…_

"Bleh. I hate the desert. Too much sand."

Kuromori had made the complaint-filled journey across the mountains and was now trying to find his way through a sand-storm in the Southern Desert.

"How am I supposed to find Phalanx in this blasted weather? This stupid place is irritating my legs…"

Out of nowhere, a small, battered shrine appeared. Desperate for shelter of some kind, the Gecko practically ran to it. It was a cramped fit, but Kuromori managed to curl himself inside the circular structure. After a while, though, the Gecko noticed something. Peeking his head through one of the broken openings, Kuromori called out.

"Who's there? I can feel your presence!"

_Oh wait…_ _ duh _ _…_

The Gecko stepped out onto the sand, hardly noticing that the storm was over.

"Phalanx? You there?"

Silence.

"Oh come out, will you? I did _not_ come all this way so you could give me the silent treatment! Do you want me to _blast_ you out?! Because I will!"

The ground shook. Kuromori stepped back, startled as Phalanx burst forth from the sand, taking flight immediately. In a booming, scratchy voice, the Dragon spoke.

"There is no need to threaten me, Kuromori. I was going to come out in due time."

The Gecko hissed, watching Phalanx circle above him with suspicious eyes.

"You foolish coward! Five of our own have been felled, and you hide under the sand like the worm you are!"

The Dragon stared down at Kuromori calmly. "It is you who is the fool, my poor Gecko. Such unseemly behavior will not get you what you desire."

Kuromori growled. "Enough lessons on my morality! What do you think we should do to rid the land of the Wanderer?"

Phalanx appeared thoughtful. "Hmm… go to the Great Temple. The boy will not be there right now, so you can do some investigation. Afterwards, go to Celobia and report your findings. Malus is currently not taking any visitors."

The Gecko huffed. Somehow the Dragon had managed to answer all of his likely questions in one breath.

"Hmph. I'll be on my way then."

Phalanx nodded. "Good luck, my Gecko."

"Right."

With that, Kuromori turned tail and ran out of the desert, not caring about the loud rumbling noise behind him signaling that the Dragon had dove back into the sand.

_Another hour later…_

Kuromori had scaled the side of the Great Temple and was inching his way to the front.

"Hmph. How does she know he's not here? That worm doesn't exactly get out much."

Peeking through the large, arched opening, the Gecko saw with annoyance that Phalanx was right. He climbed down and began to look around, then froze when his eyes fell on the altar.

"No way… It… It _can't_ be her…"

Kuromori slowly walked up to the altar and stared in wonder at the girl lying there.

"But… Arna is dead… and she was old when she died… it isn't possible!"

But there she was, a teenage reincarnate of the High Priestess, laying there before him.

" _Her name is Mono._ "

The Gecko flinched and looked up at the light in the ceiling.

"What are You planning, Dormin?"

The Light Colossus chuckled. " _Always quick to get to the point, you are. We shall not say anything, but a small hint would not hurt. That maiden is dead, yes?_ "

Kuromori growled. "Obviously."

" _Look upon her dress, our Gecko. What do you see?_ "

Kuromori looked closely at Mono's dress, and his eyes widened.

"She is of the Wandering people!"

" _Yes. Now who else can you think of in this land that is of the Wandering tribe?_ "

Dormin sounded almost amused. This annoyed Kuromori greatly.

"You demon, the boy who has been killing us!"

" _Can you think of any connection that two people of the same tribe of similar age and opposite gender might have?_ "

"What are you-"

_Wait… of course!_

The Gecko laughed. "Thank you for Your assistance, Dormin! I'll be off to tell Celobia now!"

The Light Colossus sounded shocked. " _You are not just going to keep this information to yourself?!_ "

As Kuromori left, he looked back and grinned up at the infuriated Colossus.

"Of course, Dormin. I'm not all bad!"


	14. Chapter 14

_**Possibly Progress** _

"Do I _sound_ like I'm kidding?"

Celobia sighed. "No. You don't. But… that is so…"

If Kuromori had eyebrows he would have raised one.

"Silly? Preposterous? Unbelievable?"

The Lion shook his head. "No. Actually, if we could figure out what 'Mono' has to do with this, it would make a great deal of sense."

The Gecko scoffed. "Do tell, Celobia. I'm dying to hear your explanation of the girl."

Celobia jumped down from his temple to look Kuromori in the eye.

"Don't you see? The Wanderer is obviously in love with Mono. He brought her here for a reason, and I strongly believe it has to do with why he is killing us."

Kuromori huffed. "Well, what are we going to do about it? What does he want?"

The Lion appeared thoughtful. "He wants the girl's life back, I think. It's the only explanation I can think of."

Celobia proceeded to pace, going into leader-mode.

"Go talk to some of the wiser Colossi that still stand. Tell them of my theory, and ask of their wisdom."

Kuromori grimaced. "As your messenger boy, I'd prefer a list."

The heavy sarcasm in the Gecko's voice bounced right off of Celobia with no effect.

"Very well. Basaran, Dirge, and Argus if he will come up from his ravine. Phalanx will probably not want to come out again, and Celosia, well… try speaking to her on your way to Argus."

"Try?"

The Lion huffed. "After talking to her earlier, she will most likely not be in the best of moods."

Suddenly, Celobia stopped and looked up suspiciously at the Gecko.

"Avion mentioned something a while back, when she was… err… in a fury about you. She said you know the order the Wanderer is killing us in. Is that true?"

Kuromori grinned, starting to climb out of the Mountain City.

"Of course not, Celobia. I was just trying to get on the feather-bag's bad side!"

Before the Lion could reprimand him for his disrespect, Kuromori was gone.

"Urg… I feel like Quadratus. Why do _I_ have to hide too?"

Barba was annoyed, and there was a cramp starting to twinge in his leg from standing so long. There was no room to sit in his secret cave hidden behind the north wall. Normally, standing in a "cozy" sized space wouldn't bother the Bearded One. But since he had been standing there for around _5 days_ , he was starting to become ticked off.

"I was free to stay outside in the temple, but _no_! Valus, Quadratus, and Gaius all had to get themselves killed and make the stupid dove come back to tell me I had to hide in my secret cave like a coward! And now I'm hungry, thirsty, and tired, too! If I could, I'd-"

Barba went quiet. Listening closely, he could hear horse hooves cantering then coming to a stop above and behind him. The sound of hooves was replaced by light foot-falls, coming closer. After a while, the sounds stopped as whatever it was came to a halt directly above Barba. Peeking through a crack in the wall, the Bearded One was startled to see a boy come down in front of him. Taking a mistaken step back, Barba bumped into the stone behind him, causing the feeble wall in front of him to shake. This shaking caused the door-opening mechanism to react, slowly lifting the wall. When the wall was totally up, the Bearded One finally saw with great anger who his intruder was.

Stepping forward, Barba aimed to crush the Wanderer with his feet. The boy began sprinting away from him, heading towards the closest barricade-like wall. The Bearded One smirked.

_That little pest is trapped, with nowhere to go. Now I can avenge my brethren…_

However, Barba was annoyed to see that the Wanderer simply used shelf-like parts in the wall to climb over and continue running in a southerly direction. Not caring for the condition of his temple, the Bearded One smashed through the barricade, continuing the chase. But to Barba's increased anger, the boy repeated the process with the next wall, and the next one, and the next one. By that time, the Bearded One was infuriated to the point of insanity. Through his haze of anger, though, Barba saw with satisfaction that the Wanderer had nowhere else to go. They had reached the column-filled south wall. And the Bearded One was ready to pound the Wanderer with his club until the boy screamed for mercy, of which he would never give.

_He deserves death, and I will be the one who gives it to him._

But before Barba could smash the intruder with his club, the boy ran behind the columns, out of sight. Confused, the Bearded One kneeled down and tried to look behind the unhelpful obstructions. Suddenly, the Wanderer ran out and leaped onto Barba's beard.

The Bearded One stood and started to shake. He would never admit it, even to himself, but Barba had heard the Fallen Ones' stories and was terrified. Now that the Wanderer was on him, he knew that it was no time to be cocky. The Bearded One shook his entire body in an attempt to get rid of the boy starting to climb up to his head. Despite this, the Wanderer managed to climb to the top of his head. Barba shook ever more violently when blinding pain began erupting throughout the top half of his body. He shook for all he was worth, and eventually the stabbing stopped, leaving a numb feeling behind. For a few moments, the Bearded One was relieved.

_I have finally ridded myself of that nuisance…_

But then, Barba felt the boy climbing down his back. Afraid once more, the Bearded One shook, trying to get rid of his attacker before they could take his life. It was to no avail. As the Wanderer stabbed Barba's second and final vital, the Bearded One felt more and more heavy. When the pain stopped, Barba collapsed, the world turning dark around him. His final thoughts were,

_At least… I know my brothers will avenge me…_

Kuromori yelped and fell down the small cliff face he had been climbing. Wincing, he looked up at the sky to see another light had been added to the heavens. The Gecko continued his journey, but this time,

He ran.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Ripple of Thunder** _

"You giant lump, this is important!"

When Kuromori got no reply, he growled.

"Basaran! Basaran the _Turtle!_ Come out so I can show you how much my aim has improved over the centuries!"

Rumbling erupted from underneath his feet, and the Gecko ran partially out of the cave in surprise. When the dust cleared, the mighty Tortoise stood before him, leering. In a booming, hissing voice, Basaran spoke.

"That's Basaran the _Tortoise,_ foolish lizard. What brings you here to my lair?"

Regaining his usual confidence, Kuromori sneered up at the Tortoise.

"Guess what, lumpy? I've been promoted! That's right; I've gone from a mere Colossus to a great and powerful messenger!"

Basaran growled. "If you don't actually tell me why you are here, trust me lizard, it is you who will be seeing how much _my_ aim has improved."

Kuromori gulped. He decided then and there that he didn't want to fool around with someone four times bigger than him.

"Celobia has a proposition. He says that the Wanderer is in love with the dead girl he brought to the altar in the Great Temple. The reason for bringing her is not clear, but our Lion is sure it has to do with bringing the girl back to life. He wants to know what you think."

Basaran thought. And he thought. And he _thought_.

An hour passed before the Tortoise startled Kuromori by walking over him into the geyser field. Basaran centered himself in the middle of the field and looked up at the greenish sky. In a slow, calm voice, the Tortoise spoke again.

"Humans… are strong creatures. Their skin is the most horrible of armor, their bones break like twigs, and their lives are short. And yet the will and intelligence they have is almost equal to that of the Colossi. Their hearts, though easily corrupted, always carry some grain of good inside them. Their emotions, though wild and hard to control at times, drive them to do the near impossible… including trying to kill Colossi. And as we have seen, this boy is successful in his endeavors. To me, this clearly shows that he is driven by the most powerful of human emotions. Love. Love is driving the Wanderer to do the unthinkable and impossible."

Kuromori said nothing. He made no comment on how corny Basaran sounded. And when the Tortoise turned and walked back into his cave, Kuromori did not move. Instead, he did some thinking of his own.

_That… that reminds me of… woah…_

In a daze, the Gecko began to head south-west, slowly picking up speed as his thoughts cleared.

_That is something to think about at a different time..._

_Meanwhile…_

"Urg. I despise resting on the bottom. It's so muddy…"

Hydrus had been told by a hawk to stay hidden on the bottom of the lake, so if the boy came he couldn't see her. Turning her head to look at herself, the Sea-Serpent snorted, sending numerous bubbles to the surface.

"Hidden? Oh, yes, a splendid idea. Especially when I have electric spikes that glow…"

Looking up at the sky, Hydrus sighed, causing the silt in front of her to billow.

"There are so many columns in the heavens these days… so many Colossi have passed…"

The Sea-Serpent always talked to herself. Loneliness was not something she was accustomed to, unlike her cousins. Hydrus was beginning to reflect on her deceased friends, when a presence made itself known. The Sea-Serpent had horrible hearing, but like fish, her lateral line gave an excellent sense of the life around her. A horse with a human being riding it was beginning to cross the main bridge towards the central tower. The tower had originally been the base for all other bridges in the city, but was now more than half-way submerged in the water.

Hydrus became alert when the horse stopped at the crumbled end of the bridge and a boy jumped off.

_The Wanderer…_

The boy jumped onto the spiraling walkway that wound around the tower and began running down. When Hydrus sensed the Wanderer enter the water, she rose off of the bottom. Swimming slowly past the tower, the Sea-Serpent began pumping energy into her spikes. That way, they would glow more to try and intimidate the boy, and also so they would be especially lethal if he came close. The Wanderer seemed confused though, as he swam out over the lake and crawled onto one of the floating bridge pieces. Keeping an eye on him as she swam past, Hydrus noticed that he was taking out some sort of wooden thing.

_What the…?_

A few seconds later, though, the Sea-Serpent was gurgling with laughter.

_Foolish boy! Trying to harm a water-dwelling Colossus with floating sharp-sticks!_

The Wanderer seemed to realize his approach wasn't working, and after watching Hydrus circle around him for a while decided to pull out a sharp stone-like object. The Sea-Serpent was slightly startled when the boy dashed into the water and began to try and follow her. However, and to Hydrus' greater amusement, the Wanderer could not catch up, even though the Sea-Serpent was going relatively slow. Exhausted, the boy eventually stopped, and settled for just treading water until Hydrus came near. When she went below him, the Sea-Serpent growled. An ominous yet beautiful noise in the water. Hydrus turned and swam up to the surface, directly underneath the Wanderer. She heard him scream a few times with satisfaction, and then dived back down. Unknown to her, Hydrus' maneuver had made the end of her tail poke out of the water, much like a whale's. In his post-shock desperation, the Wanderer had grabbed onto the brown algae for dear life.

When the Sea-Serpent finally sensed something on her tail, she picked up speed. She knew with a slight sense of relief that there was no way the boy could crawl up her when she swam at that speed. But all good things came with a price, and Hydrus soon discovered that swimming at such high speeds drained her oxygen reserves. Coming up to the surface, the Sea-Serpent exposed her whole back to the air, and began gulping in as much as possible. In her desire for oxygen, Hydrus hardly noticed the sensation of something beginning to run up her, towards her furthest spike. When a sharp twinge ran through the Sea-Serpent's spike, she screeched and dove down slightly; trying to expose the spike to water so it could shock her attacker. But to her great dismay, Hydrus heard no screams, and instinct was driving her to the surface to receive more oxygen. When she surfaced, the Sea-Serpent felt the Wanderer run to her next spike. The same twinge ran through the spike, and Hydrus once again dove slightly to try and rid herself of the attacker. Once again, she had to surface, and once again, the twinge sequence occurred. But by that time, the Sea-Serpent's lungs were full, and she dived deep down into the lake. After a while, Hydrus felt the boy let go, and when she turned, she saw with relieved satisfaction that he was swimming desperately to the surface.

However, upon self-examination, the Sea-Serpent became frightened. Three out of four of her spikes had blackened, and blood was spewing from points behind them. For a while, Hydrus swam in a serpentine fashion just feet from the bottom, looking up at the Wanderer wearily. But soon, the angry Colossus within her drove the Sea-Serpent closer to the surface. Unknowing of her former mistake, Hydrus once again surfaced then dived in an attempt to shock the boy with her only working spike. Her attacker had become smart. He swam out of the way of the glowing spike, but went back into position in time to once again grab her exposed tail. Once again, the Sea-Serpent swam faster, and once again, the Sea-Serpent needed air. When Hydrus fully surfaced, the Wanderer made a break for it. Every time the Sea-Serpent dived slightly in a desperate attempt to drown her attacker, the boy simply latched onto her fur-like algae before continuing his sprint when she resurfaced. Finally, the Wanderer came to Hydrus' final spike, the one directly behind her head. A sharp twinge went through it, and the Sea-Serpent once again screeched and dived before having to quickly resurface. A blinding pain then shot though her head, and Hydrus screamed, her call sounding like that of an aquatic harpy. In frightened, confused pain, the Sea-Serpent ducked her head in and out of the water erratically.

Eventually, all of the functions in Hydrus' body stopped. Letting out one last final cry, the Sea-Serpent crumpled and began to sink. As the Sea Guardian died, a ripple of thunder spread through the land.

Kuromori stopped.

Looking up at the sky, the Gecko felt electricity go down his back. Mental thunder erupted through his mind, and Kuromori felt… strange. When the sound cleared, the Gecko noticed with a bit of remorse that sorrowful crying was drifting through the nearby cave entrance.

" _My cousin…! Oh, my cousin…! She is gone…! GONE!"_


	16. Chapter 16

_**Many Questions** _

"What does he _want_?"

While Kuromori sunbathed, he kept one eye slightly lighted so the little wretch wouldn't do anything funny. Every day for the past month, a small boy had been watching him from one of the doorways that led down to his small, circular field. The boy seemed to have no sense, as he didn't watch Kuromori from one of the windows in the higher- safer- levels of coliseum. The Gecko inspected him. Everyday the little boy would lean on the doorway, occasionally knocking pebbles with his foot down the small staircase.

Finally, Kuromori cracked. Fully lighting his eyes, the Gecko turned towards the boy and growled.

"Go away! You are disturbing my peace!"

The boy cocked his head slightly and asked, "Why?"

Kuromori grimaced. "So you can talk! Well, child, I'll tell you _why_. The reason you disturb my peace is because you stare at me! Every day, in fact! So go away before I blast you out!"

The boy had a strange look in his eye. "You're not going to do that."

The Gecko blinked, surprised. "Of course I- I… you're right, I won't… I'm above harming children. But really, boy! Leave!"

Kuromori noticed that the boy suddenly looked terrified.

"They'll kill me! They'll kill me if I leave!"

The Gecko sighed. If he was going to get rid of the wretch, he figured that helping him would solve the problem.

"Who's 'They'?"

The child gulped. "All of the big boys! They play this game where they see who can catch me first. I'm a fast runner, but they ride horses to catch up! And when they get me, they beat me up! They said if I told my parents, they would run me through with sharp sticks! A month ago, I couldn't take it any more, so I told my parents! They didn't believe me, and they told the big boys' parents! Ever since then, I've hidden here in your Arena. They're scared of you, so they don't come here. But _I'm_ not scared of you. I know that you're really nice deep down."

Kuromori blinked again. "Um… what's your name, boy?"

The boy grinned. "Mori."

The Gecko chuckled slightly. "Well, Mori, let's go find those bullies of yours."

Mori let go of the doorway and beamed at Kuromori before turning back and sprinting up the numerous staircases to the Arena entrance.

The Gecko sighed and started to climb out of the coliseum.

_A half-hour later…_

"Hey, pipsqueak!"

Kuromori watched from where he hung onto the cliff-face, hidden by shadow. Mori had said that the bullies would be playing mock-polo on the green, stony flat that gave way to sea in the south-east. He had been correct, and had boldly walked towards the hollering, laughing teens. When the boys finally noticed him, they had laughed harder and one by one dismounted their horses. The lead boy sneered.

"So! Little Mori has decided to join the fun. Where have you _been_ Little Mori?"

The boy tried to puff himself up. "With a friend."

All the boys laughed, and the lead boy snickered, "You? With a _friend_? That one's hard to believe."

Mori stayed confident, and sneered up at the teen. "Well, it's not as if these fools are your friends, Karappo. They only hang out with you because they're afraid!"

Karappo grimaced. "If that's how you want it to be, than fine."

The teen signaled to his friends and they stepped forward. As Karappo jumped back on his horse, the others forced a shouting Mori onto another horse. One of the boys jumped onto that horse and followed Karappo towards the edge of the cliff. Kuromori became alarmed as the boys began to drag Mori off the horse and towards the edge. Deciding that the confrontation had gone far enough, the Gecko made a rumbling growl that echoed off the surrounding cliff faces. All the boys stopped what they were doing and paled as Kuromori ran towards them. When the Gecko came to a stop in front of him, Karappo stuttered.

"Uh-um… wh-what brings you here, K-Kuromori…?"

The Gecko's eyes flared red. "Drop the boy."

Immediately the teen who held Mori let go of him, and the boy ran behind one of Kuromori's front legs and latched onto it. The Gecko glared at Karappo.

"So this is what you do for fun? Pick on defenseless children?"

Mori spoke up. "Hey! I'm not defenseless! And I am _not_ a child!"

Kuromori ignored him. "I don't care what your answer is, but let me tell you this; if you touch a single hair on another child's head, I will _personally_ blast you into the ocean. Understood?"

The teens nodded vigorously.

"Now shoo! Out of my presence!"

The boys quickly mounted their horses and galloped off, shouting to each other about who was at fault.

Kuromori looked down at Mori.

"Satisfied?"

The boy grinned and nodded.

The Gecko huffed. "Good. Now, go home. I've had enough of you."

Instead of looking sad or disappointed, Mori just smiled.

"Nah. You haven't."

Kuromori grimaced. "How do you know?"

The boy shrugged. "I can just feel it."

The Gecko groaned. "Oh great. There's a psychic on the loose. Just do me a favor, and stay away from the Arena?"

Mori nodded.

"I'll try!"

_Three months later…_

"So, Colossi can't feel love?"

"That's not what I said! Uhg. Let me explain."

Despite what had Mori said about not coming back, he had. And despite what Kuromori had said about having enough of the boy, he hadn't. For the past three months, in fact, Mori had come to the Gecko everyday with a new question. Kuromori was able to answer most of them without many problems, but this was not one of those questions.

"Colossi are incapable of feeling _romantic_ love. The kind of love that you humans usually use to define the word 'love'."

Mori nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see now. But can you guys feel any love at all?"

Kuromori snorted. "Of course we can! Our friendship sort of love is probably the strongest in the world. And some of us have a strong sense of familial love as well."

The boy raised his eyebrow. "But a month ago you said none of the Colossi were related."

The Gecko nodded. "True. None of us are physically related. But some of us are related by soul."

Mori looked confused. "Related by soul? How is that possible?"

Kuromori sighed. "That is a simple question with a complex answer. Ask it some other day when I actually _know_ the answer."

Mori huffed. "Alright. Hmm… Which of the Colossi are 'related'?"

The Gecko chuckled. "Now _that_ I can answer. Well, Celobia and Celosia have a pretty close spiritual connection, so they consider themselves brother and sister. Meanwhile; Hydrus, Dirge, and Phalanx also have a spiritual connection. Since it's not as close as Celobia and Celosia's, they merely consider themselves cousins. I feel as though I might faintly be related to the three, since I can easily sense their presence."

The boy once again looked confused. "So if they're only related by soul, how come they look similar?"

Kuromori appeared thoughtful. "Hmm… good question. I think their physical appearances are affected by their souls."

Mori was about to ask something else, when a voice rang out from the top of the Arena.

"Mori…! Where are you…?"

The boy called up. "Down here, Mom!"

There was a pause before the sound of quick footsteps ran down the stairs. A woman with a petite form and smooth black hair similar to her son's appeared at one of the doorways into the field. Upon seeing her son, who was sitting cross-legged next to a sunbathing Kuromori's head, she paled. Making cautious movements with her hands, the mother whispered loudly,

"Mori! Come here! Be careful so he doesn't hurt you!"

But Mori didn't come. Instead, he raised his eyebrow and said in a normal voice, "Mom, I'm fine. Why are you so worried?"

The mother blinked. Getting a determined look on her face, she took a wooden spoon from a pocket in her dress and walked slowly down the steps onto the field. She cautiously stepped over towards Mori and grabbed him by the arm. She continued whispering.

"Young man, you are coming with me whether you like it or not!"

Kuromori lighted his eyes and looked over at the mother.

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?"

Immediately the woman jumped up and dragged her son behind her back. She held up her spoon as a pathetic form of defense.

"Don't hurt him! If you do, I'll tell Malus! I swear I will!"

Kuromori sighed. "Look, lady, I wasn't planning to hurt your son. In fact, I've been making nice conversation with him for a while now. So if you wouldn't mind, could you leave us be?"

Mori spoke up. "Yeah! Really!"

The mother looked at them both and seemed to come to a conclusion. Silently, she stepped out of the way of Mori. She watched as he ran forward and hugged one of Kuromori's front legs. And she smiled when the Gecko looked down at her son with his eyes a rare, happy blue.

"You two are bonded, aren't you?"

Kuromori looked up at her, his eyes still blue, and chuckled.

"Huh. I suppose we are."

Kuromori lay behind the rock, lost in his memories.

Since Dirge was being wild and dangerous in his sorrow, the Gecko had resigned himself to waiting it out on one of the tower-like rocks in the cave. Kuromori sighed. "That boy needed so much help…. But I guess…

He kind of helped me too."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Power of Nobility** _

"Well, you could have tried harder!"

"It's not as if I had a choice!"

Kuromori had waited for quite some time before attempting to speak to Dirge, but the Sand-Snake was so distracted in his rage and sorrow that he had accidentally injured the Gecko. Kuromori was not seriously injured, just enough so that he couldn't run fast. When he had gone to speak with Celobia, though, the Lion had only responded with anger.

"Kuromori, you can't let the last of your armor being broken off stop you! The lives of the Colossi are in mortal danger!"

The Gecko growled. "Believe it or not, Celobia the _Kitten_ , I actually do care about the lives of our brethren!"

The Lion leaped forward so that his red eyes were only inches away from the Gecko's.

" _What did you call me?_ "

Kuromori glared back, unafraid. "Celobia the Kitten. I think it suits you."

Celobia roared and began to try and topple over the Gecko, so he could get at his vitals. Kuromori retaliated by trying to blast him away and shaking. As the Lion went for the Gecko's short neck, he shouted,

"Avion was right! We should have banished you a long time ago! It's not as if we would have missed you!"

Kuromori turned around and blasted the Lion a good ten feet away. He sneered.

"What happened to protecting the lives of our brethren? Or have you forgotten your nobility already, Kitten?"

Celobia stood, tiny pieces of his armor turning to dust and falling to the ground. He growled.

"If it means killing you, I will do _anything_ to protect _my_ brethren."

For a second, the Gecko stood still from utter shock. To talk of the other Colossi possessively without including the Colossus you were speaking to was one of the worst insults you could use. When the Colossi spoke of themselves and their land, it was always "our", "we", and "us". Even Kuromori and Avion had obeyed that unspoken rule when they had one of their famous shout matches. The Gecko was so surprised that _Celobia_ , probably the most clean spoken Colossus in the land, had used such a horrible insult, he didn't react for almost a minute.

The Lion was starting to tilt his head to the side in confusion when Kuromori began to move. Celobia tensed and backed up, expecting the Gecko to unleash his full fury. But instead, Kuromori looked disgusted. The Gecko slowly turned away and began climbing out of the Mountain City. Celobia stepped forward and shouted to a departing Kuromori.

"Why aren't you blasting me to pieces? I insulted you so greatly, you should be trying to rip off my vitals!"

At the top of the cliff-face, Kuromori stopped. The Gecko looked back at the Lion with sadness obvious in his features, and he spoke softly.

"None of you seem to realize I care. Long ago, in a conversation with a friend, I said that the friendship love of Colossi was the strongest in the world. When I said that, I was not just referring to everybody else. No matter what I say or do, I love all of you."

Kuromori then grimaced and spoke normally. "But like you said, nobody would care if I left. So if you don't consider me part of the Colossi, I will go home to my Arena and wait. The Wanderer will come. Then all of you won't have to deal with my existence any longer."

Feeling _extremely_ guilty, Celobia was about to shout how they  would miss him and not to leave, but by that time the Gecko had disappeared. The Lion sighed.

"Nice going, Kitten."

_Later…_

"Maybe I was being a little dramatic…"

Kuromori had been waiting… and waiting… and _waiting_ … But he was just growing more bored by the minute. The Gecko sighed.

"Great. If I die, it's going to be after everyone else. Where is that little idiot?"

Kuromori was lying in sunbathing position at the bottom of his Arena, and now went silent so he could listen for any footsteps. Or rather, _feel_ for them. The Gecko didn't have as good hearing as the other Colossi, but he still had a sensitive belly.

Finally, a very slight and rhythmic tremor started coming from above. Kuromori waited for the sound of echoing foot-falls at the top level of the Arena before getting on his feet and shifting a little. The Gecko did not bother looking up, since he couldn't see inside the open windows anyway, so instead he slowly circled around his field and moved his head side to side, listening. When a piercing whistle sounded from above, Kuromori looked up to see the Wanderer standing at the edge of one of the gaping holes in the side of the coliseum. Feeling anger at the boy course through him, the Gecko growled and began to climb up the side towards him. When he was right in front of the Wanderer, who seemed stunned that a Colossus could actually _climb_ the walls, Kuromori sucked energy into his mouth and then blasted it at the boy. The Wanderer was thrown back before running away and covering his mouth as an attempt to try and not breathe the poisonous fumes.

For a few seconds, Kuromori took in the boy's appearance. He was disgusted to see that the Wanderer had numerous black blood stains on his clothing, and that his hair had turned a purplish color. He also noticed how the boy had a deathly look about him, like he was much paler then normal humans should be.

Hatred renewed, the Gecko once again blasted at the Wanderer. He thought to himself,

_If I kill that boy, it would be for his own good, anyway. He looks like he very seriously needs to be put out of his misery._

The Wanderer had run around the bend and out of sight, but Kuromori continued to blast at where he had been. The Gecko could hear the boy yelling, as if he was arguing to himself what to do. When the Wanderer went silent, Kuromori became suspicious. Suddenly, a volley of arrows started to hit his back. The Gecko was about to start climbing around to the source when one hit his left back leg. Kuromori practically screeched at the sensation of the arrow penetrating the sensitive flesh. Frozen to the spot with a temporarily useless leg, the Gecko only had to wait a few seconds before the Wanderer shot another arrow into his left front leg. Kuromori could not hold on to the wall with only two legs, so he could only flail helplessly as he plummeted to the bottom of the Arena.

The Gecko landed on his back, and the impact made his eyes darken and the world seem to spin beneath him. The sound of something landing on the ground near his tail seemed faint, but when the sensation of something stabbing the underside of his tail hit him, Kuromori's senses returned. As the stabbing continued, the Gecko desperately squirmed side to side, trying to flip over. Finally, Kuromori managed to get back on his feet, and the Wanderer was thrown from under him. Still dazed, the Gecko wasn't able to blast the boy before he was safely up the steps and running back up the staircases toward the higher levels. Kuromori looked around, a strange mixture of terror and fury swimming through his veins. When another whistle sounded from the top level, the Gecko didn't hesitate to climb towards the noise. Little did he know that the Wanderer was no longer there, but running to a different spot where he could fire at his legs. When Kuromori reached the spot, he was not able to blast at the area for long before arrows began piercing his sensitive legs. Once again, the Gecko plummeted towards the earth, and everything was black. When the Wanderer climbed up his tail and started to stab his chest, Kuromori knew he was doomed, but squirmed and shook anyway. As the final blow came, the Gecko's head curled forward before everything went numb and limp. Kuromori was surprised by how calm he felt. In fact, he had never felt so calm. If he could have, the Gecko would have sighed.

_Avion would be proud of me… To die with nobility is the best way after all…_

Dormin could have shouted in glee.

As They focused their light upon the unconscious Wanderer below Them, then the dirt pile in the Arena that had only minutes ago been Kuromori, They felt absolute, sick joy course through Them.

" _Ha! Eight down… Eight to go…_ "


	18. Chapter 18

_**Finishing the Job** _

"It's _not_ your fault!"

Celobia groaned. "Yes it _is_!"

After hearing from a distraught dove that Kuromori had been felled, the Lion had freaked out and ran all the way to the Northern Desert Temple for consolation from his sister. Instead of growling and turning him away like she usually might of, Celosia had simply sighed and accepted that she needed to talk with her brother. At this moment though, the Boar was having a hard time getting through to him. She huffed.

"Really, Celobia. The Wanderer would have gotten him eventually without you depressing him anyway. Stop blaming yourself!"

Celobia bashed his head into a nearby boulder and kept it there, his eyes black. He groaned again.

"How does that make me feel better?"

Celosia sighed and pulled her brother away from the rock with her paw.

"What did you say, dum-dum? It couldn't have been that bad."

The Lion walked over to the lake's edge and dunked his head in the water, as if trying to drown himself. His voice gurgled.

"Yes it was!"

Celosia rolled her eyes and pulled her brother's head out of the water.

"Just tell me what you said."

Celobia looked at his feet. "I spoke of the Colossi without including him. I said _my_ brethren instead of _our_ brethren."

The Boar blinked and walked a little ways away, appearing thoughtful.

"Hmm… That is bad…"

The Lion walked in front of his sister and kneeled down. He cried,

"Just rip off my armor and bite my vitals now! I deserve it!"

Celosia growled and pushed him to his feet. "No you don't! And besides, if I killed you it would be like doing the Wanderer's work for him! Now, I know you. When you're upset, you feel like you need to do something to restore your worth. Think, Celobia. What could you possibly do to redeem yourself?"

The Lion looked in the distance. "I could do something for Kuromori…"

The Boar nodded. "Good. What could you do?"

Celobia began to pace a little, getting back in his normal mode.

"Before he died, I had asked him to go to the wise Colossi for their opinion on my theory about why the Wanderer is here. On my list were Basaran- who he already spoke to- Dirge, Argus, and you. If I ask for their-and your- opinions, I will be completing Kuromori's work!"

Celosia sighed, relieved. "Good idea."

The Boar began going back up the side path into her temple when she paused and looked back at her brother.

"Wait…You think I'm wise?"

Celobia nodded. "Indeed."

Celosia's eyes turned blue before continuing up the path with a spring in her step. The Lion swore he heard her mutter happily,

"Such a kind brother."

Celobia chuckled and began to wade through the lake then walk up the path out of the desert canyon. Once out, the Lion set a course for Dirge's cave. As he picked up speed, Celobia thought to himself,

_Such a kind sister…_

_**An hour later…** _

"Dirge, I know you're here."

After making the long journey to the Sand Cave, Celobia had had no success in trying to coax out the usually welcoming Sand-Serpent. At that moment the Lion was pacing over the patch of sand he knew Dirge was coiled up under. Stopping, Celobia sat and huffed. Suddenly, an idea hit him.

The Lion got back on his feet and began digging. As he dug deeper, the rumbling caused by Dirge digging down farther himself increased. Finally, the Sand-Serpent hit rock. Uncoiling himself, Dirge slid through the sand sideways before popping out his head about 5 yards away from Celobia. The Sand-Serpent blinked in annoyance. In his gravelly, hissing voice, Dirge spoke.

"My Lion, I am afraid I am taking no visitors today."

Celobia scoffed. "Dirge, you _always_ take visitors. Why is today the exception?"

The Sand-Serpent sighed. "I am just tired I suppose. I am still recovering from the loss of our dear Sea-Serpent. It doesn't help that Kuromori was just felled, either."

At the sound of the Gecko's name, Celobia winced. Dirge noticed.

"What bothers you, my Lion?"

The Lion looked at his paws and mumbled.

"What happened to taking no visitors?"

The Sand-Serpent rolled his large eyes.

"Celobia, your inner turmoil is written all over your face."

The Lion looked up and grimaced. "I blame myself for our Gecko's demise. And rightly so."

Dirge shook his head. "No, my Lion. Your self-blame is incorrect, as Kuromori's death was completely out of any of our control. No matter what you said or did. I can tell you wish to redeem yourself. Though that is not needed, during your journey of so-called 'redemption' you will realize that nothing that happens to the rest of us is your fault, and you will once again find your nobility."

Celobia was shocked. "But I have always been noble! Its part of who I am!"

The Sand-Serpent nodded. "True. But recently, you have lost that nobility."

The Lion opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted.

"Celobia, I know you question how. My answer is that you lost your confidence in how truly _good_ you are. Nobility is not just _being_ good, it is _knowing_ that you are good, and accepting it humbly. That is what you have been like since the Time of New. But now, your belief in having been associated in Kuromori's murder has skewed your self-image. It can only be fixed by going on this journey."

Celobia blinked and nodded. "I will… And I was correct when I chose you as one of the wise Colossi to speak with."

Dirge chuckled. "Thank you, my Lion. Hmm… Why did you wish to speak with me?"

The Lion shook himself and shifted into a more leader-like stance.

"I have a theory as to why the Wanderer is here."

The Sand-Serpent became more serious, and the blue of his eyes dimmed slightly.

"Go on."

Celobia continued.

"You have heard of the girl that was brought by the Wanderer and placed on the altar in the Great Temple, right?"

Dirge nodded.

"According to Kuromori, who went there while the boy was away doing who-knows-what, Dormin told him that the girl's name is Mono, and that she was closely associated with the Wanderer while alive. My theory is that the boy plans to bring her back to life somehow. And he's doing it because he loves her."

The Sand-Serpent was silent for a minute. Suddenly, Dirge roared.

"Curse Them! They are exploiting the human weakness of love to do the ritual! The unspeakable! Oh, curse Them, curse Them, curse Them!"

Celobia had heard rumors long ago of an attempted ritual by Dormin, but the people of the land had quickly disposed of Their pawn before they could so much as lay an eye on any of the Colossi. But now… Dormin was free to make a pawn do as They pleased.

The Lion sat, feeling a little overwhelmed.

"But… according to legend, the further the ritual goes, the stronger the pawn becomes. They absorb power from the deceased Colossi. That would mean that by now, the Wanderer would be much more powerful then when he first felled Valus. And if… heavens forbid… he got as far as Malus, he would be practically unstoppable."

Celobia looked up with despair at Dirge.

"What are we to do?"

The Sand-Serpent returned his gaze with almost equal fright and sadness.

"We fight, my dear Lion, we fight."

"But…"

Dirge's eyes flared red.

"Don't you see, Celobia? There is nothing else we can do! There's no tricky solution or loop-hole! There is absolutely NOTHING we can do, except fight like the Colossi we are!"

The Sand-Serpent sighed, his eyes returning to a dull blue color.

"There, Celobia. There is my answer. It may sound final, but I still wish for you to check with the rest of the wise Colossi on your list. Who are they?"

The Lion shook himself and stood.

"Argus and Celosia."

Dirge nodded. "Good. On your way to Argus, you can go to the Great Temple to try and see what order the Wanderer is going after us in. I have my suspicions, but having them confirmed would be nice."

Celobia cocked his head to the side.

"Argus first? But my sister is closer."

The Sand-Serpent had a strange glint in his eyes.

"Trust me, Celobia. Seeing Celosia last will be a key to your journey. Now, I would like to continue my rest."

The Lion nodded. "Of course."

With that, Celobia headed out of the cave, hardly hearing the sound of Dirge sliding his head back in the sand. As the Lion began making the long run to the Great Temple, he thought determinedly to himself,

_Now to finish the job…_


	19. Chapter 19

_**Odds Are Against Us** _

"This place gives me the shivers…"

Celobia had reached the Great Temple and carefully checked for the boy before walking in. When there had been people in their land, the three smallest Colossi- Kuromori, Celosia, and Celobia- had always enjoyed the advantage of being able to join their worshippers inside the Temple. But now, the Lion felt a strange sort of fright take over him as he glanced at the eight shattered idols. Looking away, Celobia's eyes fell on the altar, and the girl who laid there.

The Lion slowly ascended the small staircase to the altar, his stone paws scraping against the stone of the floor. Celobia took in Mono's appearance with a growing feeling of dread. When Kuromori had described her, he had said the girl looked like a dead girl should. Relatively pale, with slightly swollen features. But as the Lion took in Mono's state of being, he could tell that she had changed.

Her skin was pinker, and her face was much less swollen then the Gecko had said. Instead of looking like the dead girl she was, Mono simply looked like she was in a deep sleep. Celobia's mind raced.

_Why does she look so healthy? When people die, they appear progressively worse, not better!_

The Lion's eyes widened and he said his next thoughts out loud.

"And if Mono is getting healthier, then that means-"

" _Our little Wanderer is becoming the opposite? Don't tell Us things We already know, Celobia._ "

Celobia looked up at the pulsating light in the ceiling. And was it just him, or was the light getting stronger?

The Lion growled. "Dirge and I know of the ritual, Dormin. And I personally plan to tell the Colossi myself what you're up to."

The Light Colossus sighed. " _Oh my. You have caught Us. Whatever shall We do?_ "

Dormin then laughed. " _Ha! We don't care if you tattle, Lion. Do you even understand how much the odds are against you? Especially since your 'Last Resort' is about to fall!_ "

Celobia glared. "What are you-"

The Lion stopped, realization dawning on him. Ignoring the dark chuckles from overhead, Celobia ran past the shattered idols and came to a literally screeching halt in front of the closest still-intact one. He recognized it clearly as Basaran's. The Lion walked slowly down the chamber, getting a good idea of who came after the Tortoise.

_Dirge… Celosia! Oh no… then Pelagia… Phalanx… Me…?_

Celobia stopped in front of his own idol, and noticed with a shock that if the Wanderer got as far as him, there would only be two Colossi left.

_Argus then Malus. Well, I had a strong suspicion that Dormin would place our Titan last… But did he have to make the order so obvious? Actually going through the Colossi in the order of which the idols are placed in the chamber is so… un-original! Dormin isn't like that…They like to play complicated games…_

The Light Colossus spoke up, sounding humored.

" _We know what you are thinking, Celobia. The only reason We did not want the Colossi killed in an order involving a more… advanced… sequence, is because it would confuse Our pawn. Humans are so simple minded._ "

The Lion growled. "You can't win, Dormin. Every being on this Earth knows that good triumphs over evil!"

Dormin laughed. " _Poor Lion. You are stuck in a child's fairy tale! This is the real world. Only those who aggressively chase their desires get what they want! That includes Us, and Our little Wanderer!_ "

Celobia roared and began to run out of the Temple.

"Then that means that we will win also! Don't underestimate the Colossi, foul Light!"

As the Lion ran top speed towards the Desert Fortress, he left a chortling Dormin behind.

_Meanwhile…_

"I'm beginning to become annoyed…"

Basaran had dug himself back into the dirt of his cave, and had enjoyed relative silence (except for the geysers, of course) until a strange pit-pattering started to sound from a long ways away. Normally he wouldn't have been able to hear something so far away, but being in the ground helped the Tortoise to hear even the faintest vibrations from a mile off. As the sound grew closer, Basaran began to recognize it as the footfalls of a horse.

_The Wanderer…_

When the horse had crossed the geyser field, the Tortoise began to rise. As he rose out of the dirt he heard the horse come to a startled stop in front of his cave. When Basaran was fully above ground, he glared at the Wanderer. The boy was just sitting atop his horse, appearing to be deep in thought.

_The others gave him time to think? Well, I know_ _**I** _ _will not give him such a luxury!_

As soon as the last of the dirt was shaken off his feet, Basaran welled up energy in his mouth and fired it at the Wanderer. The horse stumbled from the first blow before galloping off to avoid the other blasts that came its way, hardly needing any encouragement from its rider. The Tortoise felt fury boil in his veins as he slowly went after the creature.

_Coward! If he had no horse to carry him, he would be dead meat!_

Basaran paused to fire off more blasts at the horse, hoping to make it fall and drop the boy. But it kept galloping away, skirting around the active geysers. As the Tortoise continued to lumber after the horse, he heard the boy egging on his steed.

"Come on, Agro! You have to keep running! If my plan works, you won't have to go on much longer!"

Basaran was just questioning what he meant when the horse took a sharp turn. The Tortoise stopped as the creature began circling around him at a distance. He was just starting to turn and fire again at the horse when Basaran felt the uncomfortable sensation of hot water blasting up at his furry belly. This blasting made the Tortoise feel extremely unbalanced, and he was suddenly relying on two legs to keep him standing, the other two flailing in the air. At first, this just angered Basaran even more.

_Urg! How could I have been so stupid as to walk over one of my own geysers?!_

But anger turned into blind fury as a piercing pain shot through one of the Tortoise's supporting feet. Immediately the sides of his foot slid over the soft part, protecting it. However, this just unbalanced Basaran even further, and when pain went through his other supporting foot, the Tortoise toppled onto his side. Basaran, being the wise Colossus he was, became frightened as the realization that he was now completely vulnerable hit him. As he flailed his legs in a weak attempt to stand up, the horse cantered around to the side where his belly was exposed. The Wanderer dramatically jumped off of his steed and shouted, "Good boy!" before beginning to scale the Tortoise's stomach.

Finally, Basaran managed to get back on his feet. He couldn't feel anything, but he was able to hear the boy running up his shell. The Tortoise shook, and since the Wanderer had nothing to hold onto, he was mercilessly thrown about until the shaking stopped. Basaran heard the boy desperately sprint across his stone shell, hoping to get to the fur on his head before being thrown off. The Tortoise began to flip his head around when the Wanderer reached it, but it was too late. Basaran was a very strong Colossus, so it took a while for the boy's blinding stabs to take affect. As his strength ebbed and his legs gave from under him, the Tortoise thought with despair,

_If this poor, sick creature can defeat me, then the odds are truly against us…_

Celobia gasped and tripped.

The Lion had been running full speed to the Desert Fortress when the familiarly painful sensation hit his chest. Unfortunately, when Celobia tripped, he was sent partially into his sister's canyon. He gripped the edge for dear life, and was relieved to hear Celosia call out in alarm.

"I'm coming, you klutz!"

After hearing the Boar wade through the lake and come up the path out of the canyon, Celobia finally saw her standing before him. Looking annoyed, Celosia huffed.

"What can I do to help?"

The Lion glanced behind him and gulped.

"Well, it would be nice if you tried to pull me up…"

The Boar sighed and put her horns behind plates in Celobia's armor before pulling back. The Lion scrambled to his feet and bowed his head slightly to Celosia.

"Thank you."

The Boar looked pleased for a second before looking troubled.

"Celobia, I felt another Colossus leave us. Do you have any idea who it was?"

The Lion solemnly nodded. "Yes. I also know the order the Wanderer is going in."

As Celobia explained, Celosia's look of being troubled deepened. When her brother finished, the Boar asked wearily,

"And what did Dormin say?"

The Lion gazed toward the Great Temple, his eyes filled with despair.

"They said the odds are against us."

And Celosia said nothing.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Shaking the Earth** _

"Oh, come _on_ , Argus!"

Celobia had been waiting for about an hour for Argus to come up from his ravine, or even at least _say_ something. As his calls became ever more half-hearted, the Lion lounged boredly on the stone at the edge of the cliff. If he could, he would have yawned.

_I have more important things to do than wait for a woes-me sentinel to talk to me! I could be speaking with Celosia right now!_

Finally, Celobia got to his paws. The Lion shook himself before beginning to walk towards the exit. But he had hardly gone five yards when a rough voice called up from the ravine.

"No, wait!"

Celobia paused and trotted back to the edge.

"Argus? Is that you?"

The Sentry grumbled.

"Who else would it be? Old Man River?"

The Lion sighed. "Right. Well, I have something to ask you. It has to do with the Wanderer and why he is here."

There was a pause before Argus huffed.

"Yes?"

"I believe that the Wanderer is trying to resurrect his um… dead girlfriend… through Dormin. Dirge said that They have incited a ritual, and that the boy is killing all of us so that he can bring the girl-whose name is Mono- back to life. However, the poor creature has no clue of what toll this is taking on him, and that this is helping Dormin as well. Dirge and I have both concluded that the Wanderer is doing all this because he loves her. What do you think?"

There was silence. Celobia was beginning to think he needed to repeat himself when the Sentry replied.

"I agree. I agree with all you said. But what can we do about it?"

The Lion bowed his head. "In the words of Dirge… We must fight like the Colossi we are. There is nothing else we can do. But you know the truly sickening thing, Argus? As the boy kills us, he becomes nothing more then the walking dead."

"That is what you meant by the ritual taking a toll on him, isn't it?"

Even though the Sentry couldn't see it, Celobia nodded.

"I'm afraid so. And as the Wanderer becomes worse, Mono becomes better. I have seen her! She looks much less like a dead girl, and more like a young maiden who is merely asleep."

A loud sigh sounded from below.

"It's not too surprising, my Lion. As evil and putrid as Dormin is, They always stay true to their word. When this ritual is completed, she will be fully brought back to life. I don't doubt it."

Celobia's eyes flared. " _When_ the ritual is completed?! Argus, have faith! Once my mission is finished, that _when_ will be at least reduced to an _if_!"

There was silence. The Lion looked confusedly over the edge.

"Argus?"

More silence.

Celobia growled to himself.

But as the Lion was walking away, he heard a shout from behind.

" _Your_ mission? Celobia, we all know it was Kuromori's! Stop attempting to accept your horrible mistake and instead accept what we all think of you! A no good _murderer_! I only played along with your game because I thought it would give you some incentive to go back to your City and stay there, where none of us will have to tolerate your so-called nobility any longer! Can you hear me?!"

The Lion heard loud and clear.

And as Celobia left a yelling Argus behind, he walked with his head drooped in shame.

_Meanwhile…_

"When he comes, I will give him no mercy…"

Before the theory had been accepted, Dirge had been part of the small group of Colossi that believed that the boy needed to be given a chance. However, the Sand-Serpent now believed that the Wanderer needed to be rid of by any means necessary.

Dirge lay coiled underneath the sand right where sunlight poured in from the gaping hole above. Above all others, the Sand-Serpent probably had the most superior of combined long-distance senses. He could feel the vibrations of human footsteps from a mile away. He could hear the neigh of a horse from _five_ miles away. And he could see the individual scales on a white-tailed lizard from an astounding ten miles away. When the Wanderer came, any attempts to hide from Dirge would be in vain.

Already the Sand-Serpent felt the vibrations of a horse galloping and jumping over the Arc Bridge, which was a thin, partially broken bridge that connected the Southern land and the Northern land in the west. Dirge didn't dare poke his head out of the sand to hear his likely assassin's approach. He lay, waiting, for the boy and his steed to arrive. When the pounding of hooves on sand came to a halt nearby, as if the Wanderer had come to the end of his trail, the Sand-Serpent made his appearance.

Dirge uncoiled himself forcefully, and thrust through the sand at top speed. As he circled around one of the rock pillars, the Sand-Serpent threw himself out of the sand, mouth crackling with energy, in an impressive attempt to intimidate the Wanderer. And once he was stably back in his substance, Dirge made a bee-line for the stunned horse and rider.

Seeming to regain his senses, the boy kicked his horse, shouting,

"Come on Agro, let's _go_!"

Agro complied just in time to canter out of the way of the speeding Sand-Serpent before galloping in the other direction. Dirge turned and smashed through several sand dunes in order to catch up with the terrified equine. For a minute or so, the Sand-Serpent trailed behind the horse by a few mere yards. Dirge took in the Wanderer's appearance with disgust. His acute eyes took in every drop of black blood that stained the boy's cloak.

_The blood of my cousin is on his hands…_ _**HE** _ _murdered Hydrus!_

Fury making his eyes flare red, the Sand-Serpent once again launched himself out of the sand… and directly into the Wanderer and Agro. He heard with satisfaction the pain-filled cries of his victims as he dove through them back into his substance. Doing a long turn around a nearby rock pillar, Dirge kept a large eye on the boy as he got back to his feet and soothed his horse enough to get back on. Immediately Agro cantered to the closest pillar and stood next to it, refusing to move. The Wanderer didn't seem too keen on leaving solid rock just yet either. So the Sand-Serpent settled for circling around them, glaring at the pair menacingly. The boy held up his sword so beams of light focused on the two vitals on Dirge's back, and seemed confused. The Sand-Serpent even heard him think out loud,

"How the heck…? Urg. The universe just can't make it easy to destroy these things…"

For a few more minutes the Wanderer simply watched Dirge circling the pillar with a contemplative look on his face. Suddenly, the boy's face lit up with an idea, and he urged his horse off of their stone oasis. As soon as Agro's hooves hit sand, the Wanderer kicked him into a gallop. The Sand-Serpent turned and followed, quickly catching up with the horse. Dirge was perplexed though when the boy turned around in his saddle with a wooden contraption in hand. He was even more perplexed when the Wanderer took out a sharp stick from a container on his back and drew it back in the contraption. However, the Sand-Serpent was _not_ perplexed when the sharp stick was shot in his eye. Dirge shrieked in pain and rage. He closed both eyes and spiraled blindly through the sand. His pain was numbed when he crashed into the wall of his cave.

Completely bewildered and shocked, the Sand-Serpent writhed his entire back in the air, not wanting to take his head away from the wall. Shouts of celebration filled Dirge's ears before the sensation of something crawling up the fur on his back startled him. In his confusion, the Sand-Serpent didn't even bother to shake. But when he felt a wrenching pain shoot through the vital on his lower back, Dirge's head began to clear. He shrieked and shook slightly as another stab hit his back. Just as the Wanderer finished getting rid of the vital, the Sand-Serpent turned his head and dove back in the sand. He didn't even stop to appreciate the cry of surprise from his attacker as he barreled towards the other side of the cave.

_That putrid Dormin! Their pawn is even more powerful then I thought! And it is even evident in his appearance how far Their malevolent claws have dug into him…_

Despite his common sense telling him what a bad idea it was, after a few minutes Dirge turned around to pursue the horse and rider. As he caught up with them, the Sand-Serpent noticed how calm the boy seemed. Even Agro had eliminated his fright, and concentrated intently on the ground in front of him. With mechanical, quick movements the Wanderer turned around in his saddle and once again shot a sharp stick in Dirge's eye. The Sand-Serpent furiously cursed himself as he once again spiraled in pain and confusion towards the cave wall.

There was almost no space of time between Dirge crashing into the wall and the boy jumping onto his back. The Wanderer sprinted up over the arc of the Sand-Serpent's back and immediately began stabbing the second and final vital. Dirge shook, but his renewed shock hindered his strength. It was not very long before the boy's work was complete.

Weak, numb, and breathless, the Sand-Serpent fell onto his side. His entire body was forced out of the sand. As his once acute vision slowly turned black, Dirge watched the Wanderer vigorously praise his trusty steed. But the horse took no notice of his master. Instead he gazed at the dying Sand-Serpent.

_Poor creature… It doesn't deserve to take part in such a horrible fate…_

Celobia gasped and tripped.

Once again the Lion fell slightly over the edge of his sister's canyon, but when he looked down he realized he was right above the path down to the bottom. Celobia let go, and looked below.

_Dirge is gone now… and Celosia is next…_

The Lion shivered at the thought of the Wanderer taking down his sister before shaking himself back into his normal mindset and starting down the path.

_I can't let that happen… And I won't…_


	21. Chapter 21

_**Weakness** _

"I thought you would have gotten over it by now…"

Celobia was once again pouring out all his feelings of self-doubt to his sister. Celosia, as you can imagine, was annoyed.

"I mean, seriously. Dirge himself said your ridiculous feelings about what happened mean nothing."

The Lion blinked up at his sister with confused and sad eyes. "But Celosia, he didn't say that."

The Boar growled and paced away.

"It doesn't matter! All I know is that you have done nothing wrong. Guess what? Kuromori probably deserved that big slap in the face before he died!"

Celobia spoke up.

"But I-"

Celosia spun around, snarling.

" _Let me finish_."

Celobia shut up.

The Boar sighed with irritation then continued.

"But guess what else, my brother? Kuromori… he…"

Celosia paused.

After a few moments, she slowly walked back over to the Lion to look him directly in the eye.

"Kuromori couldn't have possibly died without having peace. Remember what Malus told us long ago?"

Celobia shook his head.

"He said that someone who is good, pure, and knows it, must come to terms with what is actually wrong in the end. Someone who goes through so much inner turmoil and doesn't know what to make of themselves must come to terms with what is actually good."

The Lion looked confused.

"What? Oh whatever, Celosia. I might as well go back to my city and wait."

As Celobia tried to walk around his sister to go to the exit, she stepped in front of him.

"What will it take to make you know the truth?"

The Lion sighed.

"You could make Argus take back his words. At least that would make me feel a little better."

The Boar rolled her eyes.

"It's not like you to be swayed by bullies. What could he have said to get you back in this mentality?"

Celobia grumbled.

"Why do you always ask about things that are said?"

Celosia huffed in irritation.

"Just tell me what he said."

The Lion looked away.

"He said I'm a no good murderer, and that I should go back to my city where none of you will have to suffer from my attempts at nobility any longer. Quite frankly, I agree with him."

Almost as soon as those words left his mouth, Celobia was cuffed over the head.

"Hey!"

Celosia growled.

"I'll tear him apart! I'll rip him limb from limb! I will!"

In her anger, the Boar smashed her head into one of the fire-holding altars that lined the walls, causing an aflame stick to clatter to the floor. As Celobia replied, he didn't notice his sister flinch from the fire near her paws.

"Celosia, it wouldn't be very masculine of me to let you fight my battles for me. And besides, Argus would probably just step on you."

Shaking her head, the Boar grimaced at the Lion.

"Hmph. Men. But seriously, stop being such an idiot. I know you're good, and despite what Argus said, everyone else knows it too. So _please_ accept it. I hate seeing my brother so confused."

Celobia searched Celosia's eyes.

"Really?"

The Boar nodded, relieved that he seemed to be coming to his senses.

"Really."

The Lion squared his shoulders and cocked up his head into its usual confident position.

"Good. Well then, I have business to attend to. Celosia, I have a theory as to why the Wanderer is here, and it is now backed by Dirge and Argus."

The Boar instantly looked solemn.

"I don't know if I should listen to anything that rotten sentinel has approved, but go on."

Celobia continued.

"Since I've said it a few times now, I'll put it into short terms. The Wanderer is doing all this so he can bring his dead girlfriend back to life. Dormin has incited a ritual. There is absolutely nothing we can do but fight back."

Celosia was silent for a few moments before speaking.

"I agree with everything. But…"

The Boar shook her head.

"That is one lucky girlfriend, I have to say. Very lucky. Despite the evil he is committing, I can't help but admire the boy's devotion."

Celobia nodded and slowly went on to his next subject.

"Also, Celosia… I know the order."

The Boar stared at him for a second before acquiring a strange glint in her eyes.

"I'm next, aren't I?"

The Lion gaped at his sister in shock before sputtering.

"B-But… How…?"

Celosia shrugged.

"I could tell from your voice. And don't worry, I'll be fine. Think, Celobia. How did the Wanderer get on the others?"

The Lion cocked his head to the side.

"He tricked them so he could climb on their fur and stab their vitals."

The Boar nodded.

"Exactly. Do you see any fur on me?"

Celobia shook his head.

"No. It's safely under your armor."

Celosia nodded again.

"Exactly. And how could the boy break off my armor? I mean, it is weaker then it used to be, but not so weak it can be broken off by a mere human! So don't worry. I'll definitely get him before he gets me."

The Lion couldn't help but feel doubt, but he nodded anyway.

"You're right Celosia. Maybe you'll win, and the Wanderer will be felled instead."

The Boar's eyes practically glowed blue.

"That's the spirit! And the girl deserves a proper burial. It's not her fault the boy loves her enough to kill… how many is it now? Oh yes, ten. Ten Colossi. To think, our number has gone from sixteen to six…"

Celosia was quiet again, and Celobia decided to leave his sister to her more somber thoughts. He stepped up to her and nuzzled her, making the stone of their face armor scrape.

"Be safe, my sister. Be safe."

The Boar chuckled.

"I said don't worry, dum-dum. I'll be fine."

The Lion sighed, nodded, and turned around to walk towards the exit. After taking one look back, he leaped over the crevice in the middle of the floor and exited onto the side path that left the temple. As he waded through the lake to the canyon wall exit, Celobia glanced up and back to see Celosia gazing after him at the open end of the temple. When the Lion was out of the canyon, he looked down one more time before starting to run westward over the desert. As he picked up speed, he muttered to himself,

"What am I so worried about? She'll be fine… I hope…."

_Meanwhile…_

"My claws are sharp, I've gone through every trick he could use, I'm _so_ ready."

Celosia had decided to wait in her stone den that was carved into the upper wall inside the temple. Most people never knew about it, because they never bothered to look up. The Boar looked out through the open end from where she lounged, keeping her eyes fixed on the wall path. Since she didn't have extraordinary hearing or feeling, this was the only way she would know when the Wanderer came.

Finally, just as Celosia was starting to feel sleepy, a dot leaped the small way down from the desert ground onto the wall path into the canyon. The Boar was instantly wide awake, and she watched closely as the boy made his way down the path. She was amused when the Wanderer looked suspiciously into the lake water before shrugging and jumping in. As the boy swam across the small lake, Celosia thought to herself,

_Hmm… He's become cautious of water… Can't blame him, I'm sure his encounter with Hydrus was quite a "shock"…_

It was then that the Boar noticed that the Wanderer had disappeared. She stood and listened, waiting for the sound of footsteps to enter her temple. When they did, she also heard a voice.

"Hmm… This place is small for a Colossus. Maybe it's hiding somewhere…"

Celosia snorted quietly.

"Well no duh."

Suddenly she saw the boy under her, and watched as he jumped over the crevice into the main part of the temple. The Boar decided it was time to get this over with.

Leaping down over the boy into the temple, Celosia ran to the open side. She heard her intruder cry,

"Wow! This one's small!"

And turned around to careen towards him.

As the Wanderer leaped behind the fire altar to his left, he shouted,

"And fast!"

Angered by his cowardice, the Boar stuck her paw into the crack and tried to claw him into the open. She heard him cry out in pain but he stayed safely where she couldn't really reach him. Backing up, Celosia started to pace in front of the boy's hiding spot. She was satisfied when the Wanderer jumped up to the top of the fire altar, muttering to himself,

"I'll be safe here!"

_Think again!_

The Boar backed up further then proceeded to ram into the altar. The boy cried out but held on. As Celosia shook the stars from her eyes, she noticed that once again a stick had fallen from the fire. Unlike when she was talking with Celobia, though, its flame had been put out by the fall. Unbeknownst to her, the Wanderer also noticed the stick. Feeling infuriated at the boy for having the nerve to not fall, the Boar repeated the ramming process. This time, as Celosia was shaking her head, the Wanderer jumped down and grabbed the stick before running back to safety. The Boar glared up at the boy as she backed up again.

_What is he up to…?_

Instead of clinging for dear life to the altar like before, the Wanderer dipped the stick back into the fire, thus relighting it. Just as Celosia was going to ram the altar again, he jumped down mumbling to himself.

"Maybe its armor burns. Why else would Dormin supply fire?"

_Dormin?! They wouldn't care about giving me fuel for my altars!_

But as the boy shoved the flames in her face, the Boar no longer cared about his silly theories. Instead, memories of the fire-keepers burning as the very flames they tamed everyday turned on them and fell on them, burning them alive in the quake. Celosia remembered struggling to stand as the same fire fell on her and chinked off her armor as she watched in horror.

Ever since the Death Quake, the Boar had been absolutely _terrified_ of fire. She could manage giving her altars fuel every once and a while, but she still flinched at getting so close. Now Celosia blindly backed away from the Wanderer and his flaming stick, groaning unintelligibly in fear. The boy quickly figured out what was going on, and advanced on the Boar from a safe distance. In her desire to stay away from the fire, she did not watch where she was going. Slowly, the Wanderer backed Celosia toward the open end of the temple.

Just as the Boar was about to back off the edge, the flame went out.

And her fear vanished in an instant.

As Celosia growled and once again ran forward, the boy's cry of,

"Oh, sh-"

Was cut short. Though he still held the stick, he was flung behind the fire altar closest to him. The Boar followed him, and prepared to once again ram the altar when he woke. She heard the Wanderer groan and stand up before seeing him jump to the top of the altar and relight the stick. Celosia had no time to think before she was once again backing away in fear. This time though, she wasn't caught in fear for long.

The Boar frantically tried to hold on to the edge as she fell, but she had been moving with such momentum that it wasn't possible. She hit the secondary ledge with her back before sliding off that edge and landing on her stomach on the ground in front of the lake. Celosia was knocked unconscious, and had no idea that when she had slid, her back armor had broken off. When the Boar awoke, it was to a blinding pain in her back as the Wanderer landed on her sword first. Knowing in her daze that one more stab would finish her because of her size, Celosia quickly stood and shook. She ran around to the side path, but in her short pause to make the turn, the boy was able to put in the second and final stab.

The Boar slowly stumbled to a stop, and then fell on her side. She knew, as blackness closed in, that Dormin would be respectful enough to move her body to the center of her temple where it could be properly mourned by anyone who came. And as Celosia took her final breath, she thought to herself,

_Yes… That is a_ _ very  _ _lucky girl…_

Celobia gasped in surprise.

He looked skyward from where he stood and gazed blankly at the column that had been added to the clouds. The Lion blinked and looked back down at the long, mossy island that floated in the lake. Bowing his head respectfully, Celobia muttered sadly,

"I'm sorry Hydrus, but I have someone else I must go and honor now."


	22. Chapter 22

_**A Bridge That Lives** _

Celobia helped a dazed and frightened Celosia to her feet.

He watched on with concern as the Boar glanced around shakily at the rest of the temple. The Lion couldn't blame his usually brave and bold sister for being so scared of her surroundings. All the charred bodies and the eerie silence that came with them gave him the shivers.

After a while, since Celosia seemed to be able to support herself, Celobia decided he wanted to help somehow. Seeing that all the fire altars had been put out, he slowly began to walk towards the exit. After leaping over the newly created crevice in the middle, the Lion looked back. For the first time in about a month, Celobia spoke, his voice hoarse from underuse.

"I'll go get some fuel for your fires. I know the closest place to get some is in the Waterfall Forest, so I'll go there and be right back. Okay?"

Celosia quickly turned towards him, appearing frightened.

"No! Stay here!"

The Lion slowly blinked then jumped back over to his sister.

"Okay… What do you want me to do?"

The Boar shivered.

"I don't know… just _please_ stay here."

Celobia shook his head.

"No… That's not a good memory…"

The Lion looked on with amusement as Celosia "raced" some of the rowdy teens who had questioned her speed. She stayed comfortably in the lead, not even running her fastest as the boys sprinted after her over the plain. The gang had approached the Boar at her temple, and after some debate they had all decided to do the race in one of the dilapidated fields in the west. As they ran, Celobia and a group of locals watched from an overlooking ridge.

Celosia laughed when she crossed the finish line- a space between two boulders that had been rolled into place- and looked back at the panting teens. All of them were stooped in a mixture of embarrassment and exhaustion, and sweat dripped off their exposed muscles.

To the two Colossi's great amusement, the group of boys had taken off their cloaks prior to the race. This seemed to be because they wanted to show off their upper bodies to the teen girls who were watching the race. Celosia and Celobia had chuckled to each other about young male hormones.

Now one of the boys stepped towards the Boar, and bowed slightly.

"We were foolish to question your power and endurance. It is clear no man could ever out-run a Colossus."

Celosia was about to say something when a voice cried out from the audience on the ridge.

"What about a woman?"

Celobia looked in bewilderment with the rest of the crowd towards a grinning girl. The teen had choppy light-brown hair and blue eyes that were currently dancing with trouble.

_Blue eyes? Hmm… She must be the descendent of a foreigner…_

While most of the locals as well as the two Colossi stood in shock, all the boys who had ran just laughed.

"A girl?! Racing a _Colossus_?! Ha! If we couldn't do it, there's no way you can!"

The girl in question just grinned even wider.

"My parents believe in teaching me the customs of the people they emigrated from. One of their customs is training yourself from the day you can walk to run very fast for long periods of time. It has to do with a ritual where you must out-run a horse in order to be considered an adult. Both women and men go through it. Thanks to my training, I bet I could beat even Celosia in a race."

All the people scoffed, but the Boar appeared interested.

"Hmm… a bet, you say? How about this… if you beat me, I will carry you on my back across the land and roar to the heavens of your achievement. Every person in the land will know your name… whatever it is…"

The girl cocked her head to the side.

"Simina. So… what happens if I lose?"

Celosia appeared thoughtful.

"Well… how about this? These boys here get to ride me across the land instead, and they will laugh about your name so every person in the land can know your shame. Deal?"

Celobia was worried.

_Isn't that a bit extreme…?_

But the girl didn't seem too concerned.

"Deal."

The Boar nodded and gestured with her tail for Simina to come down. The teen confidently slid down the ridge and walked up to her opponent.

"Where will the finish line be?"

Celosia thought for a moment before pointing with her paw to the other side of the field.

"Right where the first race started."

Simina nodded and got into position. The Boar did the same.

Celobia shouted down to the two.

"Alright! On my mark… get set… GO!"

The crowd cheered half-heartedly as the two took off. But everybody was soon shocked into silence as the girl quickly pulled ahead, sprinting ahead of a Celosia who had clearly not been planning to give this her all. The Boar shifted in to top speed, tearing up the ground with her claws as she fought to catch up with Simina. When they were neck-and-neck, the girl looked side-long at Celosia for a moment before shifting into her own top speed. The crowd watched in amazement as the teen practically flew over the field, running even faster then a horse could. But when she crossed the finish line, the silence was broken as almost everyone yelled and cheered. As everybody ran down the ridge onto the field, the Boar walked up to an exhausted but happy Simina.

"Congratulations! Well, a deal's a deal. Get on my back now."

The girl was about to do just that when someone shouted,

"Wait!"

Celosia and the girl turned to look at one of the boys who had ran in the first race. He seemed completely stunned.

"That was impossible! Every person on the planet knows men are more athletic then women!"

The Boar was about to growl something when Simina stopped her.

"Actually, he's right. The men from my parents' tribe do better in the ritual then the women. If you scrawny lot had the training, you probably could have beaten Celosia in a race even better then I did."

The boy seemed pleased before realization hit him and he looked ticked off.

" _Scrawny_?!"

Celosia chuckled and urged the girl onto her back.

"See you later!"

For the rest of the day, Celobia helped his sister roar Simina's name to the heavens. The day after, they attended a special ceremony and watched happily as the girl was decreed a full fledged woman by the community of immigrants from her parents' tribe. Afterwards, brother and sister walked with heads bowed as they conversed contentedly. When they reached the point where they had to separate, the two nuzzled sleepily and shouted good night to each other over their shoulders. As Celobia finally curled up on his temple in the Mountain City, he thought to himself about how wonderful the past few days had been.

The Lion lighted his eyes.

Looking down at the boar-shaped pile of dirt in the center of the temple, he smiled inwardly.

_Yes…That was the perfect memory to remember her by…_

_**Meanwhile…** _

"Hello, little fishy! Oh... um… good-bye, little fishy!"

Pelagia's voice gurgled as he attempted to speak to the creatures in his lake. At least, the creatures that hadn't been driven to jump off the waterfall from sheer annoyance. The Masked One had decided to hide underwater until the Wanderer came, which was the reason why he was driving all the fish and frogs insane. Despite his full schedule ( Wake up at dawn, collect rocks until noon, eat some algae at noon, shout what he thought the clouds were shaped like until dusk, then fall asleep at dusk) he had put in some electric-shooting practice. Pelagia had never bothered to use his tusks for anything except pushing things around, but he had decided that with a dangerous little Wanderer on the loose, it would be good to practice using them for what they actually were for.

The Masked One had limited sight thanks to his mask, but his senses of hearing and taste were excellent. Yes, you read correctly. _Taste_. Earlier he had tasted the air, and the bitter taste of human had been growing stronger on the breeze. The bitterness seemed to be mixed with both the grassy taste of horse and the metallic taste of blood. Pelagia decided right then and there that mercy was not a good idea.

_If I am felled, that taste of blood will only grow more putrid._

The Masked One stopped trying to speak to a passing school of fish when he heard the sound of small, erratic splashes sounding from underneath the Arch. He hadn't been able to hear it earlier because the source had still been close to the waterfall. Now he waited, and when footsteps sounded on the base of one of the gazebos whose top had broken off, Pelagia began to rise.

He fully extended his legs so that most of him came out of the water. The only parts of Pelagia that remained underwater were the majority of his legs and his long lobster-like tail. The Masked One gave a low, aquatic roar and pumped energy into his tusks. The Wanderer leaped behind the table-like structure in the center of the platform as Pelagia blasted at him for the first time. While the Masked One tried to look at him, the boy shouted to the heavens.

"Why do the water ones have to be electric?! _Why_?!"

For a while, not much happened. Pelagia continued to shift around the platform, trying to get a good look at his intruder and occasionally blasting at the stone table. The Wanderer seemed content to circle around the table and stay out of the line of fire, occasionally glancing over his hiding spot at the Colossus with a contemplative look on his face. Finally, he appeared to have an idea.

The boy quickly rolled into the water and made a beeline for the space under Pelagia's front left leg. The Masked One almost immediately found out that his blasts couldn't reach the Wanderer while he was swimming underwater. Pelagia turned to try and find his intruder, but he ended up turning in circles as the boy swam faster past his side then the Colossus could turn to face him. The Masked One stopped when he felt something climbing up the algae on his back. He shook, trying to get rid of the nuisance, but before he knew it, the Wanderer reached his head. The boy shouted victoriously,

"This was so easy!"

And proceeded to stab Pelagia's cranium. However, the Wanderer quickly realized something wasn't right when his opponent didn't roar in pain or start shaking furiously.

"What?! Does this thing not have a brain?! Urg!"

Out of anger, the boy whacked his sword against one of the tooth-like things that stood up from Pelagia's mask.

Almost as if he were a bridled horse, the sensation made the Masked One groan and turn in the direction that the hit tooth was on the side of. The Wanderer was stunned for a second before banging a tooth on the opposite side of the one he had just hit. This caused Pelagia to turn in that direction instead. After a moment, the Masked One was forced to careen forward as a tooth in front of the boy was hit. Pelagia was soon steered across the lake in many directions as the boy contemplated what to do. Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion. The Masked One found himself being forced towards the closest of the stone gazebos. When he was right in front of it, the Wanderer leaped off his head onto the top of the gazebo.

Originally, there had been wooden stairs that floated next to each of the gazebos so diners could enjoy the sun on the upper level. But now the stairs had long since drifted away and had either decomposed or gone over the waterfall. Pelagia had just been made into a living bridge for the Wanderer to access high ground that hadn't been touched for hundreds of years.

The Masked One quickly realized he could once again attempt to blast his intruder to pieces. But once again the boy dashed behind the central table structure. Unlike before, Pelagia found it harder to shift to get a look at the Wanderer. Fed up with being eye level with the platform where he couldn't see very well, the Masked One dunked down into the water, building power in his hind legs. Pelagia then thrust his entire upper body out of the water and placed his blunt front feet on either side of the platform with a bang. Looking down at the boy, the Masked One felt victorious.

_Ha! There's no way he can escape me now!_

But Pelagia's inner celebration was cut short when the Wanderer ran forward and leaped onto the now exposed lump that contained his heart. The Masked One felt the boy pull his sword back, as if building up strength, before plunging it into the vital. Pelagia quickly felt his energy be cut in half, and slowly began lowering himself back into the water. But he was not fast enough. Just as the Masked One's vital was plunged back into safety, the Wanderer put in the second and final stab.

Pelagia became limp, and he slowly fell backwards into the water with a crash. As the Masked One rested on the bottom of his lake, watching the world go black, he tasted his surroundings for the final time. In his last moments, Pelagia realized with dismay that his assassin's flavor of blood had in fact grown more putrid.

Celobia looked up, startled.

The Lion had been delving further into happy memories of Celosia, and the sensation of a Colossus being felled had shocked him back into reality. Celobia seemed to come to a conclusion and walked slowly towards the open end of the temple. Before jumping down onto the open ground, the Lion glanced back one last time at the dirt mound. While he ran across the desert back to his city, Celobia thought to himself,

_There are only four of us left… and I must do everything in my power to make sure there will not just be two…_


	23. Chapter 23

_**Fear of Emotion** _

"Must… run… faster!"

For a day or so, all Celobia had done was train. He was exhausted and irritable, and yet he kept trying to go to his limit. The Lion was currently doing laps in the large empty space in the eastern part of the city. He was panting rapidly as he careened in circles.

Stopping suddenly, Celobia looked wildly around. His eyes fell on a rock in front of his temple. The Lion sprinted over and began pummeling the innocent stone with his paws.

"Must… have… sharp… claws!"

He continued like this for a while before practicing his turning-on-a-dime trick. Celobia spun around in different directions, kicking up grass to the point of non-existence.

"Must… be… agile!"

As the Lion continued with other fighting maneuvers, he was completely unaware of the frightened hawk that perched on one of the pillar-like obelisks. It carried Celobia's usual delivery of lizard meat and fruit in the large leaf-packet dangling from its jaws. Finally, the bird gathered up the courage to go down and try to attract the Lion's attention. Standing timidly behind the Colossus who was randomly swiping at the air, the hawk spoke.

"Um… mighty Lion… I have your once-weekly supply of food…"

Startled, Celobia turned and roared ferociously at the poor bird. The hawk dropped its load and quickly took off, nearly running into the obelisk as it went. The Lion looked down at the food and hungrily gobbled it up before going back to his work.

After another six hours of training, Celobia was exhausted. Without bothering to try and jump up to his temple in the dark, the Lion collapsed in front of it. Almost instantly he fell asleep.

Celobia lighted his eyes to see a familiar yet confusing scene. He seemed to be curled up on top of one of the tombs in Phaedra's green canyon. The Lion got to his feet and looked over to where the fallen Colossus' dirt pile of a body should have been, suddenly wanting to mourn for the old Horse. However, Celobia was startled to find that the body was not there. Realizing this must be a dream, and Phaedra was probably still alive, the Lion leapt off the front end of the tomb and trotted towards the Horse's sleeping platform. He was puzzled to see that there was nobody there. In fact, when the Lion looked around, he found that he was the only one in the canyon.

_But if Phaedra's not dead… where is he…?_

Suddenly, laughter rang out from the entrance to the Horse's area. Celobia looked up to see a small boy gazing at the green canyon with wonder. But it wasn't the boy's happy smile and amazed demeanor that caught the Lion's attention. No, it was the child's horns. Celobia was even more confused to see a young woman run through the entrance and pick up the boy, not at all daunted by his slightly demonic appearance. The Lion looked closer and practically fell down in shock. He was almost positive that the woman was Mono.

_This must be the future… and if the girl is alive, then the Colossi must be dead…_

Celobia felt despair for a second before a new wave a realization hit him.

_But if we're all supposed to be dead, then where is Phaedra's body…?_

As the Lion watched Mono slowly carry the boy to the safety of lower ground, his mind raced.

_If there are no bodies… then surely we must be alive…! But then… if we are all well, then how is the girl also well…? And what about this horned boy…?_

Celobia dimmed his eyes and focused on the life-forces of the land. All of the Colossi were there… but their signatures were very faint…

The Lion could hardly react. The shock and confusion was too great.

_No! It's not possible! We can't be-_

"Are you alright?"

Celobia lighted his eyes. In front of him stood a petrified looking hawk. The same one he had accidentally scared away the day before. The Lion didn't move, so the bird spoke again.

"You were yelling stuff in your sleep. Mainly, 'How?! How?!'. I wanted to check if you were okay. I've never heard of a Colossus with night-terror problems…"

The Lion slowly got to his feet. After shaking the loose grass and dust from his armor, Celobia spoke to the hawk.

"Sorry… Perhaps I've been training too hard. I'll get a drink, and you can check to see if any of the other three Colossi need anything. I'm sure you service hawks haven't had much to do."

The bird appeared awkward.

"I would, but the others seem to be inaccessible. Phalanx won't come out of the sand, Argus shoos me away, and there's a strange, invisible barrier around Malus' area."

Celobia thought for a second before answering.

"Hmm… then I suppose you can just have the day off."

The hawk's eyes brightened.

"Really? Oh, thank you, great Lion!"

The Lion watched blankly as the happy service bird flew away. His thoughts were revolving around this strange future. Suddenly though, Celobia shook his head.

"It was a dream. I need to get over it. I need to remember that the Wanderer's victory is the Colossi's death. And that's that."

And with a decided flick of his tail, the Lion turned back towards the rock he had pummeled yesterday and continued sharpening his claws.

_Meanwhile…_

"Hmm… the warming sand must mean morning…"

Phalanx imagined wistfully flying across the sunny sky and felt happy, despite the creeping desire to cry in anguish for her two fallen cousins.

_No… sadness and anger will do me no good…_

There were three emotions that the Dragon avoided at all costs. Sadness, for it reduced the strength of her armor; Anger, for it reduced the purity of her soul; and, of course, fear. Fear reduced her mental and physical control. Even the minor forms of these emotions (such as disappointment, annoyance, and worry) were shunned from Phalanx's mind. Virtually all that was left was contentment and stability. However, the desire to let out the negative emotions was dire by this time. Recent events gave her a headache, for trying to keep down the three emotions she avoided was becoming harder.

The Dragon cleared her mind. Turning her mental focus from her own mind to the minds of others, she could sense their own emotions. Simple feelings flowed from the fish, lizards, and turtles, while more human or Colossus-like feelings drifted from the birds. Phalanx searched with her mind for the other Colossi. She sensed confusion and determination coming from Celobia, sullen-ness and guilt coming from Argus, and pure rage rolling off Malus in waves. The Dragon shivered when the Titan sensed her and closed his mind to her. Phalanx then went to search for two special thought-makers.

She found them in the Mountain Forest, and picked apart their emotions. The Wanderer still seemed tired, and didn't feel much except sleepiness. The Dragon guessed he was still trying to convince himself to get up from his slumber. Agro, the horse, was feeling contentment and amusement. Phalanx observed them mentally as their emotions changed. However, this quiet, non-important probing became a serious tracking venture when the Dragon sensed the sources of the feelings coming closer. Unlike when the boy and his horse had simply passed Phalanx's side of the Southern Desert on their way to Barba, they came right towards it. The Dragon knew what she would have to do. When the Wanderer pulled his horse to a stop in the broken shrine that Kuromori had used to get away from the sandstorm, Phalanx decided to make a dramatic entrance.

The Dragon had been coiled tightly under the sand, and when she burst into daylight, she was propelled forcefully and wonderfully into the air. As Phalanx twisted upwards with a serpentine fashion, she gave a screeching, echoing cry to the heavens. If the boy wasn't intimidated, then he had to be insane. Just as the Dragon felt her head begin to be affected by gravity, she started beating her two pairs of wings and many sets of soarettes so she would be flying evenly over the desert. (A/N: I had to find a name for those mini sets of wings that help keep her parallel to the ground, and I came up with the word soarettes. You know, like swimerettes? Eh, just keep reading.) Phalanx soared over the boy's head, pumping energy into her air-bags to take a lot of the load off her wings.

As she continued her flight, the Dragon looked down at the galloping horse and rider who followed her. The Wanderer was puzzled and wary, while Agro was flowing over with an annoyed "Here we go again" sort of feeling. After a few minutes of fruitlessly following his opponent, the boy seemed to come to a conclusion. Taking out a strange wooden thing, the Wanderer fired a tiny, sharp stick at Phalanx's underside. The stick chinked off of the Dragon's armor with no effect.

_What, did he expect me to get infuriated and swoop down to reap vengeance? He doesn't seem to realize that I know fighting will do no good…_

Great amounts of confusion rolled off of the boy, before something dawned on him. The Wanderer shouted to his horse.

"Hey, Agro! This thing has sacks that glow like the feet of the second and ninth ones, and like the legs of the eighth one! Do you know what that means?"

No response.

"Well, it means if I shoot at them, something productive will happen!"

Phalanx had a few moments to think, " _Oh, no…_ " before an odd piercing sensation hit her chest sack. The Dragon suddenly became heavier as the lifting energy spewed from the sack in the form of blood. She remained airborne, but her wings were doing more work. Soon, both her belly and tail sacks were blown out, and Phalanx could not stay in the air.

In order to keep herself from barreling into the ground, the Dragon lowered her wings so they trailed in the sand, and put most of her energy into beating her soarettes so the other two-thirds of her would stay airborne. Phalanx was able to tilt these miniature sets of wings so she could swerve around the rock pillars in her domain, but otherwise she careened crazily through the desert. As Phalanx began to send her extra energy to her sacks so the holes would repair, she cursed herself for not diving back into the ground as soon as her first sack had been blown out. Now she didn't have enough height and momentum to do so.

Eventually, the Wanderer caught up to her, his horse panting in the effort to run along side the Dragon's trailing wings. Phalanx looked back and saw the boy, after a few unsuccessful tries, leap onto one of the ridges in her wing. The Dragon bit down the fear that threatened to bubble up as the Wanderer praised his horse and started jumping up the ridges.

Suddenly, Phalanx felt the sensation of lifting energy flowing seamlessly into her sacks. The Dragon finally righted her wings and lifted into the air once more. Her relief was short lived though, as she soon felt the boy running down her back. Phalanx cried out when a flaming stab hit her first vital, which like the two others was hidden behind a large erect flap. This went on for a bit before the Wanderer started to continue down the Dragon's back.

_I wasn't planning to hurt him, but I suppose I have no choice!_

Phalanx turned her wings so she started to tilt back and forth, before going into a magnificent spiral. For a few long seconds, the boy had to hang on for dear life as he was turned upside down. When the Dragon's flight evened out, though, the Wanderer continued down her back. But when he had only put in two stabs to the second vital, Phalanx closed her flaps. The Dragon tilted her wings upwards to act as brakes before pressing them to her sides and going into a nosedive. As Phalanx burrowed into the safety of the sand, the boy was thrown off and knocked out.

The Dragon planned to stay like this, but a voice intruded her mind.

" _What, are you afraid?_ "

_No, of course not! It is merely logical to-_

" _To hide like a coward from your attacker?_ "

_That is beside the point, Dormin. If the Colossi are to live, then I must live._

" _Stop trying to change the subject. We can tell how much your negative emotions have built up. Oh, how you wish to cry in sadness! To roar in anger! And to cower away from this boy in fear!_ "

_I'm not afraid!_

" _THEN PROVE IT!_ "

Phalanx turned her nose upwards and burst from the sand. Like before she twisted into the air before evening her flight and soaring over the desert. The Dragon quickly remembered though that listening to Dormin was a very bad idea. She remembered this when once again sticks were piercing her air-sacks. It was not long before she trailed over the sand and the Wanderer was able to eventually jump onto her wings.

This time, when Phalanx's flight evened out, the boy sprinted over her back, leaping as he went. When he reached the Dragon's second vital, he only needed to put in one stab before it vanished. Once more Phalanx spiraled to try and get rid of her attacker, but it was only a mere interruption in the Wanderer's run to the third and final vital. It only took two built-up stabs.

The Dragon gave one last cry before plummeting to the ground, landing on her right side. Her left wings folded over her while her right wings crunched beneath her. Since it took a while for the life to be sapped from Phalanx, the boy had enough time to run to her head. The Dragon was surprised by the guilt that overflowed from the Wanderer as he laid a hand on her tan face armor and looked directly into her darkening eye.

"I'm so sorry…"

Celobia growled and looked skyward.

Pure, undeniable determination, confidence, and a sense of duty flowed through the Lion like a raging river. Though he felt sadness for the wise and graceful Phalanx, and his anger at the Wanderer was fierce, Celobia felt no fear.

"I will refuse to fall. And I will refuse to become number fourteen."


	24. Chapter 24

_**Stunts** _

Celobia sighed contently.

The Lion was sprawled on his side in front of his temple, letting the sun soak through his armor. All the people had left the Mountain City to go watch a special air show on the plain behind the Great Temple, so everything was quiet. Celobia had been interested by the idea of watching Avion and Phalanx perform synchronized stunts in the sky, but had decided to catch up on some sleep and "self-time".

Suddenly though, he heard someone nearby cry out in pain.

The Lion instantly lighted his eyes and sprung to his feet. Looking around, he couldn't see anyone. Celobia thought he had heard it from the other side of the city, so he sprinted around the main building. After leaping over several of the canals that brought ground water from the mountains, and ducking under the many arches that served as raised pathways for people to access the obelisks, the Lion found who he was looking for.

A petite teen girl with odd, reddish-black hair was clinging to the small corner obelisk with one hand for support, while the other hand gripped her right ankle. When she looked up to see Celobia running towards her, she waved.

The Lion came to a halt in front of her.

"Are you alright?"

The girl grimaced.

"Does it _look_ like I'm alright?"

Celobia shook himself, embarrassed.

"Right. Sorry. Standard question. So… how did you do this?"

The teen blushed.

"Oh… I was trying to climb this obelisk. But since it doesn't have any ridges like the normal ones, I err… slipped and fell after I got about ten feet up."

The Lion shook his head inwardly. Their people loved to climb things and get higher up. This was why they built tall buildings and made ridges in the sides of things instead of just making stairs. In fact, the only reason the main obelisks existed was so the people of the Mountain City could be high up and enjoy the view whenever they wanted. Celobia believed the reason their people had this "get higher" mentality was because they lived alongside beings who's heads were literally in the clouds. Of course, this event was proof that the mentality could be dangerous.

"Well, how can I help?"

The girl placed her injured foot down and tried to put weight on it. She winced and raised it again.

"I think I have a sprained ankle. Could you bring me to the healer?"

Celobia nodded.

"Of course."

After kneeling so the teen could climb on his back, the Lion made his way back to his temple, being careful to not scrape his rider off when he went under arches. Celobia carefully climbed up to the top of the temple and squeezed around the central structure that he sheltered in at night. The girl gasped.

"There's a secret pathway?!"

The Lion had made his way onto a thin path that carved into the mountains, and was slightly amused by his rider's reaction.

"Yes. How else am I going to get out?"

For a few minutes, Celobia trotted along in silence. The girl seemed content to take in the view and rub her ankle. Finally, though, a question came to the Lion.

"So… why weren't you at the air show?"

Celobia could almost hear the teen shrug.

"Meh, it wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before. Avion doing loop-de-loops… Phalanx spiraling… Taking on a new climbing challenge seemed more interesting. Now, if we were able to actually _ride_ them while they were performing stunts, then I would _so_ be there."

The Lion chuckled.

"I have a feeling if you did that you would have worse injuries then just a sprained ankle."

The girl laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so."

There was a pause before Celobia had another question.

"Um… if I may ask… what is your name?"

The teen giggled.

"Of course you can ask! It's Ceil."

The Lion nodded in response.

Eventually, they came to a point where the walls on either side of the path flattened out and Celobia had to carefully slide down a grassy hillside. At the bottom was one of the main streets that cut through the mountains. This particular street led directly to the area where most of the people of the Mountain City actually lived. The Lion headed that way and quickly came upon the town. Celobia passed wooden homes of varying sizes before he got to his destination. Before him stood a small hut and it seemed to be the only building in the vicinity that showed any sign of life.

Inside he could hear the sound of the current Mountain City healer scolding somebody.

"No, no! The yarrow goes _there_!"

The Lion poked his head into the hut. On one half, there were three small cots. On the other, there was one long table that had various herbs and jugs on it, with more herbs tacked up on the wall behind it. Baskets filled with bandages and other materials littered the floor. The healer herself was standing with hands on her hips, watching a teen boy sort out new herbs from a different basket.

Celobia cleared his throat.

The woman looked up, startled.

"My Lion! What can I do for you?"

The Lion nodded towards his rider, and realization lit the healer's face. She was instantly at his side, helping Ceil down. The woman helped her over to one of the cots and sat her down. Unlike when the healer spoke to the boy, she spoke to the girl in a soft, concerned voice.

"What's the matter, dear?"

Ceil told the woman what she had told Celobia, all the while glancing constantly at the boy while he continued sorting herbs. When she was finished, the girl found her foot high in the air. The healer felt it over, clucking her tongue.

"I know you're an adventurous one, Ceil, but honestly! You were here just a few weeks ago with a severely scraped elbow! And a few weeks before _that_ you had a dislocated hip! And before that… oh, never mind. You've injured yourself too many times to count."

The girl glanced away sheepishly.

"Sorry, Tala."

Celobia looked at them both.

"You two know each other?"

The healer snorted, but didn't look up from her work.

"How could I not? This one is such a regular patient I should be setting up a cot for her exactly every three weeks."

Suddenly the woman dropped the foot. It fell to the ground with a light thud. Ceil winced.

Tala noticed and made a dismissive gesture.

"That won't hurt it more, so don't worry."

She then turned to the boy, her voice gruff again.

"Lorus! I've taught you how to cast sprained ankles! Do that while I go wash my hands."

With that, the healer briskly walked out the opening to the hut. She gave Celobia a quick, respectful bow as she passed. When she had turned a corner around one of the houses, the Lion looked back at Ceil. The girl had her foot now resting in Lorus' lap as he crouched in front of her. He was clumsily opening a small jug. When he had accomplished taking off the plug, the boy scooped out a greenish-white cream and gingerly lathered it on Ceil's ankle.

The girl raised her eyebrow.

"Um… what is that…?"

Lorus glanced up at her quickly and blushed.

"Oh, err… it's an aloe lotion we apply before putting on the bandages. It keeps your skin from drying out and getting flaky during the next few weeks."

Ceil nodded. After a short period of time, the boy started wrapping the bandages stiffly around her ankle so it would set in the correct position. Just as he was finished, Tala walked back in. She wiped her hands on her dress and proceeded to snatch the girl's foot out of Lorus' hands. Inspecting his work, the healer slowly nodded.

"Good… I expect this sort of standard from my apprentice."

She gently placed the foot on the ground at smiled at Ceil.

"You're free to go. Take it easy for about two weeks, though. It's actually good to put weight on the foot, but don't do any adventuring. I mean it."

Tala turned away to put back the aloe lotion jug on the table, so she didn't notice that when Ceil tried to stand, her leg gave out from under her. The girl must have forgotten that she needed to hold onto something when standing. Instead of falling back onto the cot, Ceil fell forward. Celobia was about to cry out her name when she was saved. Lorus had been able to catch her around the waist just in time. They stayed still like that for a few seconds before the boy seemed to regain his mind and helped Ceil properly to her feet. Celobia took note with amusement that they were both blushing furiously.

After everybody said goodbye, Ceil climbed back onto the Lion and he trotted off. When they had left the town, Celobia chuckled.

"He likes you."

The girl leaned forward wildly.

"Who?! Lorus?! Did he say so?!"

The Lion shrugged, amused.

"No words were needed. And it's pretty obvious you like him too."

Ceil then sat back and seemed to be lost for words.

"Well… I-I… I don't know what you're talking about…!"

Celobia laughed.

"Sure you don't."

The rest of the way back to the Mountain City, the Lion and his rider argued lightheartedly about the matter. Celobia couldn't help thinking,

_This one's sticking around for a while… I can feel it…_

_**Three Weeks Later…** _

"Are you sure it's safe?"

"Totally."

"Really?"

"Positive."

"But how do you know?"

"Trust me, I've done this before. And I know its safe because I _only_ got a broken wrist."

"Comforting."

After Ceil had told Celobia the story of how she found an ancient slide and stone sled on a mountain top in the south, she had wanted to repeat her experience. However, the old sled had fallen apart at the bottom of the half-mile long track (thus resulting in Ceil's broken wrist), and she had been afraid the slide would be unused for good. Just as she got the okay from Tala to do whatever she wanted, the girl had begged Celobia to help her on her quest to find and make a new sled… of a larger size so that it could accommodate him, of course. The Lion had agreed, and they had spent a week on a search to find what they needed.

The stone for the sled had been taken from Dirge's cave. It had been one of the last, un-mined blocks. The Sand-Serpent had been reluctant to hand it over, but he was won over when Ceil hugged his snout. His eyes had turned a bright, happy shade of blue, and he had enthusiastically agreed to let them take the small boulder.

The next stage, carving the block into a sled shape, was a bit harder. None of the stone-carvers of the land wanted to do it for free. Basaran might have agreed, but being so large his aim would have been horrible. Pelagia said no… he was too busy watching an interesting woman who had an odd hair cut. They didn't even consider Malus. So who else had the power of blasting at their disposal? After much debate, they decided that it was necessary. Unfortunately, convincing Kuromori to carve the sled was even harder then they thought it would be. In the end, Ceil ran up to the Gecko and kicked his leg in frustration. Instead of being ticked off, Kuromori was amused and impressed by her "spunk".

The end result was a large, sturdy looking sled with an open back to step into and protective walls on the three other sides. It was large enough for Celobia to fit snugly into it and still have Ceil squeezed in at the front. The Lion and the girl spent most of the day pushing it up to the top of the mountain. For the occasion Ceil had clumsily chopped her dress short and wore boy's work pants underneath. Celobia had done most of the work, but the teen had insisted on helping.

Now, was the moment of truth.

Ceil was crouching in the front of the sled, looking over the edge with wide, excited eyes. Celobia walked in behind her and after glancing over her at the steep track, spoke up.

"As your guide, I feel it may not be in your best interest to-"

"Oh, give me a break. Push off on my mark!"

The Lion sighed in a resigned fashion and placed his back foot behind the sled.

"Three…! Two…! One…! GO!"

Celobia thrust his foot in the ground and quickly pulled it back into the sled as they zoomed forward. The track was surprisingly smooth, so the only noise was Ceil screaming with laughter as they careened down the mountainside. Lizards skittered away and birds cried out in surprise as the sled practically flew past them. Celobia soon found himself laughing with Ceil. It was like this for at least a minute, before the end of the track loomed ahead, made obvious by the rubble of the previous sled. The Lion tensed and prepared to jump forward to block his companion from hitting anything and breaking something, but was relieved to find the sled slowly and easily coming to a halt. When their ride was completely still, Celobia backed out to let a shaky Ceil exit. She was grinning madly.

"Okay…We _have_ to do that again…"

And to his own surprise, the Lion agreed.

Celobia lighted his eyes.

The Lion looked up blearily at the night sky, observing the poufy clouds and how there was a faint, almost undetectable moisture in the air. He noted to himself that there was probably going to be a thunderstorm in a few days. Celobia then looked down at his paws and sighed. His dreams were so full of memories these days it was almost painful. The Lion just wanted to stay awake and try to think of ways to remember the beings he loved without pain, but he knew very well he needed sleep. So as Celobia curled back up and dimmed his eyes, he thought to himself determinedly.

_I must be strong for tomorrow. For everyone. For_ _**her** _ _._


	25. Chapter 25

_**Redemption** _

"I'm sorry, but this really isn't the time."

Celobia stared down at the service hawk with pity and slight annoyance. The poor bird was going on about how concerned it was for the rest of the avian population.

"But my Lion! All the birds are feeling sick! None of the females are laying eggs! And this crisis started when Avion died! Please help!"

The Lion sighed.

"I understand, and I'm truly concerned for your kind, but there's nothing I can do! The Wanderer will be here soon! I must be prepared!"

The hawk resignedly nodded and flew off. Celobia watched it go, feeling a little guilty. He then shook his head.

"I need to make an intimidating and surprising appearance… The Wanderer needs to be caught off guard long enough for me to run to him and sink my claws into him…"

The Lion turned around and looked up at his temple. He nodded.

"Perfect."

Celobia leaped up onto the crumbling structure, not being able to just climb up since the Quake had turned the bottom part of the stairs to dust. He sat at the top in a statuesque manner, facing the main building of the Mountain City. The Lion looked up at the sky.

"Which ever one of us it is, it's a beautiful morning to die."

Celobia continued to gaze wistfully at the sky before he seemed to realize that the Wanderer was taking a long time. The Lion sighed and looked forward, putting all his energy into his hearing.

From a few miles away, Celobia could faintly hear somebody on horseback cursing loudly at the fact that they took _another_ wrong turn in the sunless maze of roads in the mountains. The Lion then turned down the ability of his ears and instead focused on dimming his eyes. Celobia wanted to get in a quick, hopefully dreamless nap.

The Lion soon lighted his eyes to find himself in a very precarious place. He was sitting atop the shrine that faced the Western Beach on a sea cliff. Celobia yelped and leaped down to the ground clumsily. He then looked around suspiciously and started muttering under his breath.

"Please don't be a memory-dream…. Please don't be a memory-dream…. _Please_ don't be a memory-dream….."

"Phourn, be careful!"

The Lion turned to the unfolding memory and sighed.

"Darn it."

A young boy was wandering near the cliff edge, dangerously close to falling off. He was jumping on rocks and occasionally looking right over the edge with curious eyes. A boy in his late teens, probably the other child's older brother, watched on with concern from a safe distance. Celobia knew another teen, the older boy's girlfriend, had already galloped off on horseback to find help.

Why so much distress? Well, a few weeks ago the cliff edge in that area had been declared hazardous when the ground had crumbled underneath somebody's feet, sending them to their doom. This was why the older brother was standing back, afraid to add his weight to the unstable ground. Unfortunately, Phourn just made the situation more difficult by refusing to leave the edge. He insisted to his brother that it was too interesting and that he'd be fine.

Finally, after a few very long minutes, the sound of horse hooves and heavy footsteps came from the distance. Celobia looked up to see a teen girl on horseback galloping towards them, with himself and Celosia following. As they came to a stop next to the older brother, the Lion inspected his earlier self and realized with a shock how much brighter and shinier his armor had been. It was the color of beautiful gray marble in the shade, but a blazing, almost white gray in the sun. His sister also looked much better then she had before her death. Shaking his head, Celobia looked back to the memory.

Celosia stepped slightly towards the small boy and spoke calmly.

"Come now, Phourn, this place can't be much fun! If you step away from the cliff edge, I'll let you ride me back to the Marsh Village!"

The young boy looked up at her with excited eyes before frowning and going back to his rock hopping.

"No thank you, Great Boar. I'm having lots of fun here."

The Boar sighed and looked back at the memory Celobia.

"Can you knock some sense into him?"

The Lion nodded and stepped forward.

"Look, Phourn. This place isn't safe. It would make us all feel much better if you stepped away and came back to your brother."

The older boy nodded.

"Yeah! If you get hurt, I'll be in so much trouble!"

Upon looking at the two Colossi's expressions, the teen glanced away and rubbed his neck nervously.

"I mean, uh, I'm concerned for your well-being!"

Celosia leaned over to the teen girl who had now dismounted her horse and muttered.

"Nice boyfriend."

The girl just blushed and glared at the boy.

Meanwhile, Phourn still refused to stop playing near the cliff edge. Celobia growled when he heard another one of the young boy's explanations.

"When your brother said life is more fun when you live on the edge, he didn't mean _literally_!"

Everybody was surprised when Phourn stopped and turned to the Lion.

"Then he lied?"

Before Celobia or the older brother could say anything, Celosia spoke up.

"Yes! So there's no reason to play there any more, right?"

The young boy looked thoughtful before finally nodding. He started to walk away from the edge, and everybody was relieved.

However, relief turned to horror as the sound of cracking and crumbling started to sound beneath Phourn's feet. The boy stopped and looked wide-eyed at the cracks starting to form in the ground around him. His older brother shouted for him to run, the girl simply paled and looked terrified, and the two Colossi stood stock-still, thinking rapidly of what they could do. But there was no time to think. The cliff face began to give way.

Without hesitation, Celobia ran forward and swiped Phourn a good ten feet to safer ground. But the weight of even a small Colossus was too much. The ground disintegrated beneath the Lion. He fell about 50 yards down the cliff face and landed with a thud on the beach below.

Celosia cried out his name and, without even turning to see if the others were following, sprinted toward the path that led down to the beach. Phourn was dazedly helped to his feet by his older brother while the girl remounted her horse and galloped after the Boar. The non-memory Celobia looked over the edge to see his own unconscious body below and gulped. He then realized that action would be happening down there soon and ran after his sister and the horse.

When the Lion reached the spot where he had landed, he came to a stop and inspected the situation. Celosia was nudging him, looking very worried. Phourn was hugging his brother and crying,

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

The girl was crouched beside Celobia's head, resting a nervous hand on his face armor. Finally, after a few minutes, the Lion groaned and began to get to his feet. Celosia nuzzled him, looking relieved, while the two brothers apologized profusely. The girl just smiled and went to comfort her horse. Celobia finally spoke up, looking around at everybody with amusement.

"My armor really is as strong as they say! No need to worry about safety, right Celosia?"

The Boar just gave him a fake growl.

Non-memory Celobia watched on, feeling more dread then contentment at how things worked out.

Finally, the Lion lighted his eyes. He sighed and glanced around his city to find that the Wanderer still hadn't come. Celobia looked at his paws, the feeling of dread becoming stronger.

"What if my armor _isn't_ as strong as they say any more?"

The Lion then shook his head.

"Well, no matter. I must still fight…"

Celobia finished his sentence in his head.

_And hopefully… My armor won't be my doom…_

_**About an hour later…** _

"Hmph. Finally."

Celobia went silent and turned statue-still. He saw the Wanderer leap up from the main pathway that cut through the main building, into the slightly lowered pathway that cut its way towards the Lion's temple, which came to a staircased end just 15 yards away from the foot of the temple. The boy looked around suspiciously. Celobia guessed that at his fourteenth Colossus, the Wanderer would have become wary of every possible hiding place for such a being, knowledgeable of every escape route for himself, and completely alert of all his surroundings.

Or… perhaps not.

When he reached the staircase, the boy just looked up at the Lion and tilted his head to the side a little.

"Hmm… nice sculpture."

He then finished the walk up the stairs and looked around.

"Now where…?"

Celobia cut him off with a low, booming growl.

The Wanderer looked up at him with wide eyes before doing a face-palm.

"Oh… _duh_ …"

Not wanting to let the boy recover from his temporary shock, the Lion stood, gave himself a good shake, and leaped down the temple. When he reached the bottom, he skidded a little before throwing himself towards the Wanderer. The boy yelped and jumped onto an adjacent fallen obelisk just in time. Celobia swerved away and backed up so that he faced the fallen obelisk. He then growled, ran forward, and rammed into it. The Wanderer cried out in surprise, and as the Lion shook the stars from his eyes he swore he heard his intruder groan,

"Oh, come on! Not _another_ ramming, fast, small one!"

Celobia backed up again, glaring at the boy. But before he could ram the fallen obelisk, the Wanderer leaped over onto the arch-like raised pathway that had led to the obelisk while it was standing. He ran across the arch before leaping onto a wall-like raised pathway that was parallel to the fallen obelisk. He then leaped from that onto the nearby still-standing obelisk. The boy grunted and began pulling himself up, using the notches as handholds. When he reached the top, he nearly fell off because of the Lion ramming the obelisk. Celobia shook his head and backed up again. But instead of ramming again, the Lion decided against it.

_I think I heard the pillar slide a little on its base when I rammed it… It wouldn't be a good idea to ram it again…_

For a while, Celobia just paced around the obelisk, glaring menacingly up at the Wanderer. In the meantime, the boy settled for staring down at the Lion, deep in thought. Finally, his face brightened with an idea. He pulled out a wooden contraption and cocked a sharp stick in it. Celobia was wondering what he was up to when the stick flew at his head and chinked off of his face armor. The Lion growled, infuriated, and completely forgot what he had told himself about not ramming the obelisk. When he did ram it, the pillar slowly slid off its base, and, upon touching the ground, fell with a crash on its side. The Wanderer was hanging on to one of the top notches for dear life, his eyes squeezed closed. He opened them to find Celobia glaring fiercely at him only a few yards away. The boy yelped and quickly leaped onto a nearby raised pathway, narrowly making the jump over the canal between him and the arch. The Lion bounded over the canal and followed the Wanderer from below as he sprinted over a few more arches. Celobia was surprised by the confidence he now saw in the boy's face, as if he knew what he was doing.

The Wanderer then leaped from the last raised pathway onto another obelisk. He hauled himself up and after waiting for the Lion to ram the pillar, shot an arrow at the Colossus once more. Celobia, despite witnessing his earlier mistake, rammed the obelisk a second time. The pillar fell, but this time the boy seemed prepared for it. Instantly the Wanderer saw that the fallen obelisk gave him enough distance off of the ground to be able to jump onto the next pillar and grab the bottom notch.

This entire process happened once more, but when the dust cleared the boy instead leaped onto another raised pathway, which gave him clearance to another obelisk. The enraged Lion rammed it twice, and the pillar fell. Celobia shook his head and looked up to see that the Wanderer had leaped from one last raised pathway onto the old bell tower. The tower had notches that wound all the way around it, so that more then one person could easily climb to the top. The Lion ran around the tower to find that the boy had already jumped off of it onto the last obelisk. Celobia rammed it angrily, and soon after found himself being shot at. For what would be the last time, the Lion backed up, growled, and threw himself at the pillar.

Celobia's anger turned to horror when he saw what he had done. Before hitting the ground, the obelisk had crashed through the weakened wall of the city entrance area. Blocks were now strewn everywhere, and the dust took forever to blow away. The Lion's eyes fell on the Wanderer, however, and his horror turned into blinding fury.

Panicked, the boy sprinted across the entrance area and leaped onto a set of notches in the wall, dragging himself up as quickly as possible. Celobia followed and stopped when he found that his attacker was now above him, standing on the decrepit platform that was attached to the entrance opening. The Lion glared up at the Wanderer, mentally daring him to run away or suffer the consequences. But instead of running, the boy pulled out the stick shooting contraption again. He mumbled to it, drew some symbols across his chest as if for good luck, and fired a stick. Celobia growled and looked for something to ram. His eyes quickly fell on a loose looking support column, and, without thinking, threw himself at it.

Instead of sliding forward like the obelisks, the column fell apart into separate small blocks. This caused the platform to shatter above the Lion's head. When a large piece fell on top of him, Celobia was knocked unconscious.

Though his state of darkness only lasted a few seconds in reality, to the Lion it felt like at least a minute. The world remained dark, but he could hear very familiar voices arguing.

_Well, he's dead now._

_No, he's not! I don't feel his presence among us yet!_

_Thank the heavens, but that's not what I meant._

_Then what_ _**do** _ _you mean?_

_I mean that he's going to be dead_ _**soon** _ _!_

_Have faith, Kuromori! I believe Celobia can get through it if he-_

_You're living in a fantasy world, Avion. He's_ _**doomed** _ _now._

_Why do you say that?!_

_Oh please. Just look at him!_

_Well… his armor has a few scratches…_

_A few_ _**scratches** _ _?! Avion, are you blind as well as stupid?_

_You putrid lizard! I should have pecked your eyes out long ago!_

_Ha! I'd like to see you try!_

Celobia awoke in confusion, wondering what the two deceased Colossi meant when they were talking about his armor. He kept his eyes dimmed and backed away from under the crumbled platform. When he was freed, the Lion shook himself and lighted his eyes. With a shock, Celobia realized he felt warmth beating down on his back, as well as a bizarre lack of protecting pressure there. Next, he found that his face armor had warped so that he could barely see out of one of his eyes. The Lion glanced back at himself and felt fear for the first time.

_My armor… Is_ _**gone** _ _…_

Celobia finally looked up to see that the Wanderer was hiding in the rubble, with a strange mixture of terror and victory on his face. The Lion growled and stepped toward him. Quickly, the boy looked around, his eyes falling on an intact support column nearby. He jumped over the rubble and leaped onto the column. Celobia ran over, backed up, and proceeded to ram the stack of blocks. However, his lack of shock-distributing armor made the impact send him into unconsciousness again. When he awoke, it was to mind numbing pain flaming from his back. The Lion quickly got to his feet and shook, but not before the Wanderer got another stab in. Celobia roared and careened out of the entrance area. While he made his way around the main building, he occasionally shook in mid-run to try and get rid of his attacker. Finally, just as the Lion reached his temple, he leaped over the canal that was right in front of the raised pathway, making sure to arch his back so that the boy was scraped off. The Wanderer cried out in pain and grabbed desperately at a decorative notch in the side of the pathway. He pulled himself up and looked down at Celobia, whose mind was racing with varied emotions. The Lion was infuriated and terrified at the same time. In a split second though, he decided which emotion was dominant.

With a ferocious battle cry, Celobia leaped back over the canal and threw himself at one of the supports for the arch. He collapsed in unconsciousness from the impact, and was quickly awoken when the Wanderer landed on him sword first. The Lion hardly had time to stand, shake, and run a few steps before the final blow was dealt.

Like his sister had before him, Celobia stumbled to a stop and limply fell on his side. His assassin had been slightly crushed underneath the Lion's bulk, and the dying Colossus watched as the boy weakly got to his feet, rubbing his stomach as though he had sustained internal injuries. Celobia inspected him with ever darkening eyes.

_He looks so sick and dirty… How can he still live…?_

In his final moments, the Lion's question was answered. For the Wanderer had gazed down at him and mumbled to himself,

"Don't worry, Mono… I'll be there soon…"

Argus growled and shifted in his cave slightly.

The Sentry had just felt the loss of another Colossus, and he knew very well who it had been. Despite the guilt nagging at him in the back of his mind, Argus couldn't help but poke his head out of his lair and smirk victoriously at the sky.

"You no longer have to redeem yourself, Celobia. Your death is redemption enough."

And joining the guilt in the back of the Sentry's mind, he swore he could hear the Lion and the Boar snarl at him as one.


	26. Chapter 26

_**The Titan's Sentinel** _

Impossible.

That was the only word to describe what Argus and the rest of the Colossi were seeing. They had never imagined that such a state of mind and will could exist in people. But now, right in front of their eyes, it was happening.

Celobia and Celosia had run forward to the Great Temple to try and halt the attack, picking out the more dangerous ones to kill. Meanwhile, Avion swooped over the Entrance Bridge, trying her best to knock off the hordes of soldiers pouring over the thin structure. Phalanx had already taken to the sky with all the land's children on her back, the smaller ones tucked safely under her flaps. The other Colossi were standing ground in their lairs, protecting the locals to the best of their abilities.

How was this happening? Well, about a month ago a messenger was sent from the nearby tribe which the Colossi called the Seekers. The messenger had stated to both the High Priestess and Malus, who were the respective leaders of the Colossus Valley, that the Seekers wanted all of their gold. All of the Colossi and people had scratched their heads in confusion. Gold? What was that? When the messenger had explained, the leaders just shooed him away, saying that the Seekers wouldn't want their money. It couldn't be used or traded any where else in the world, after all. The messenger had glared at them, told them they didn't know who they were messing with, and stormed out of the land. A month later, an entire army was raging over the bridge through the Great Temple.

Argus had known this was going to happen. He had warned them that one day one of those odd tribes that acted like evil Colossi would make a move. The others had scoffed. Evil behavior in humans was impossible.

This was one of many hard felt lessons to come about humans.

Once the battle had been won by the Colossi, they thought trouble from people was over. But as the ages wore on, they learned that even their own people could do the impossible. Malus soon became used to being the one to hand out punishments for murder, torture, abuse, and adultery. As the eons wore on, though the number of good people stayed the major part of the population, bad people came into existence. A few times, the acts they committed were major and unspeakable.

And each of those times, Argus had been the one to predict them.

When a man had gone insane, the Colossi had been sympathetic and sent him to a special doctor of the mind. Argus, however, was not sympathetic. He recognized the type of insanity the man had, and said bad things would happen as long as he lived. Soon after his prediction, the man went home and killed his family.

Argus had been right.

When Dormin began offering people great power if they murdered the Colossi, everybody had laughed and turned their heads away. There was no way that any of their people would be so disloyal. But Argus warned that they should not be so dismissive. Power was a great temptation to humans. Soon after, a woman had been caught creating an incredibly sharp stone for the admitted purpose of killing a Colossus.

Argus had been right.

Though the Colossi were wise, they were far too trusting. This was probably why one of them had to be the distrustful one. The voice of skepticism in a sea of optimism. Argus recognized not just the good, but the evil in people, too. It was for this reason he was one of the wisest. His judgment and predictions were unprecedented.

And he was never, _ever_ , wrong.

Or, at least, _almost_ never wrong.

There were only two times Argus ever misjudged anything. Both times take place during the period of time when the boy named Wander roamed the Colossus Valley. At this point in the story, one of those misjudgments has already happened. The other one has yet to come. Both are catastrophically incorrect.

That's what happens when Argus goes against his character, his _nature_. He is the embodiment of good judgment and correctly placed distrust. When he goes against that… things fall apart.

More then anybody had yet to know.

_Back in the story line…_

"No, I am _not_ coming, Malus."

For the past few hours, the Titan had been mentally yelling for Argus to come. But the Sentry refused to leave. His battle with the Wanderer was inevitable and very soon. He knew that. To go running over to Malus would be illogical. So he stayed in his cave in the ravine, listening to the echoes of bird calls as they travelled down from above.

Argus had had a lot of time to think. A _lot_ of time. One of the things he was very sure of now was that he was insane. Why? Because all sorts of voices had been creeping into the Sentry's head. Almost all the deceased Colossi were shouting at him. Some of them gave him words of encouragement, some of them just gave him random words and memories, while a key few Colossi yelled at Argus as if he had done something unspeakable. The voice he noticed right now was Celosia's.

_How_ _**dare** _ _you exclude my brother from the Colossi! Oh, you haven't said that you have, but your thoughts say it loud and clear! Your argument is that Celobia had done that to Kuromori, but if you had been able to see him, to hear him, to_ _**know** _ _his emotions, you would know he didn't mean it. But you just turn a blind eye to the truth, because you think_ _**you** _ _speak the truth! You're infuriating! If and when you join us, I will give you such a beating!_

The Sentry shivered and decided to focus on different, less angry voices. He had no such luck, though.

_You are the greatest, fattest, biggest_ _**idiot** _ _I have ever seen! Do you think I have no compassion? Soon after my death, I was able to realize that Celobia was truly, undeniably sorry for his words! How is it that I, probably the most likely to hold grudges out of all of us, was able to easily forgive him like it was nothing, and even when I tell you I don't care, you_ _**still** _ _act like the Lion assassinated me_ _**personally** _ _?! Get a grip!_

Argus didn't care if Kuromori himself forgave Celobia. He knew what the Lion did was shameful and horrible. The Sentry continued to dwell in his thoughts, mostly drowned out by voices, until something captured his attention. All the dead Colossi went quiet as Argus heard the echoes of footsteps drifting down from above. The footfalls were quick and muffled by gravel, showing that the person was running over the rocky dirt of the Desert Fortress grounds. After some time, the footsteps came to a halt on the stony edge of the cliff, which dropped into the ravine that held Argus.

Deciding that it was the perfect time to make his appearance, the Sentry crawled to the entrance of his cave and swung his sword-holding arm above him where he was able to grip the cliff edge. He then turned his body so that he was in the correct position and swung his other arm up. Argus then used all his strength to heave himself up into the Fortress. The Wanderer had a moment to look terrified before the Sentry lifted his leg and made to squash the boy with his foot. Crying out in surprise, the Wanderer ran out of the way just in time and sprinted towards the far away entrance to the Fortress. Argus followed, satisfied with the boy's fear. Looking behind him, the Wanderer realized that this foe was not as slow and lumbering as the other human-esque Colossi. The Sentry watched as the boy leaped onto the flimsy stone platforms that edged the base of the Fortress walls. However, the base for one of the bridges that arched over the Desert Fortress stuck out in front of him, and the Wanderer had to come to a halt. Argus turned to the platform and lifted his leg, bringing it down with a smash on the thin stone.

But instead of breaking or having the boy fly off, the platform turned up like a see-saw. Clearly the Wanderer hadn't been expecting this, as his eyes were squeezed shut and he looked as though he was expecting the worst, but he opened them and quickly found that the platform now acted like a ramp to the first level of the Fortress. Argus pulled his foot away, but not before the boy was able to leap into the columned hallway above. The Sentry watched angrily as the Wanderer ran down the hallway, his image flitting between the columns, obviously looking for another way up.

_He is foolish to think I can't harm him while he is in there…_

Argus pulled his sword-arm back slowly, building up power, before whacking the Fortress wall with great force. The boy yelled and stumbled, while several large floor-blocks from the level above fell down. The Sentry's internal laughter was cut off though when the Wanderer began climbing up the pile of fallen blocks and vanished. He reappeared in a few seconds though, hauling himself up through the newly made hole into the next level. Argus growled and followed as the boy ran down the hallway, jumping over other holes, towards a ramp that turned and led up to the very top of the Fortress wall.

When he came to the middle of the stone pathway, the Wanderer leaped up onto the slightly higher stone path that went along next to him and looked around. Argus smirked to himself.

_Will he ever learn…?_

Once again the Sentry threw his arm back then slammed it at the wall. The boy cried out and fell back into the lower pathway. Shaking his head, the Wanderer stood, quickly glanced around, and then bolted for the end of the Fortress wall, where there was another ramp. This ramp turned and came to one of the bridges that arced over the Fortress, connecting the two walls. He grinned and ran to the middle of it, looking down at Argus.

_The Wanderer clearly thinks he can just jump off of that onto my head! Time to bring him back to solid ground…_

With that, the Sentry pulled his arm back again. His adversary quickly lost the grin and sprinted for the end of the bridge, just barely making it before Argus' sword pounded the thin structure. Instead of shaking and holding up to the force like the wall did, the bridge collapsed and crumbled. As the Sentry angrily shook the dust from his eyes, he stepped forward, already planning to attack the Wanderer again. But this time, something completely different happened.

In his desire to attack the boy, he had forgotten he was already close to where the bridge had been. So when Argus stepped forward, he was very close to the broken end of the bridge, where the Wanderer was now standing.

The boy quickly jumped the short distance down to the Sentry's head. Argus hardly had any time to comprehend what was going on before blazing pain shot through his mind. He shook his head back and forth, and when the Wanderer stabbed him once more, he forcefully threw his head backward. It took a long time for the boy to stop stabbing, because the Sentry stayed very strong despite the internal feeling of ebbing life. When he was finished, the Wanderer began randomly running about on Argus' shoulders. The Sentry knew his attacker was looking for the other vital, so he constantly shook his entire body to make things difficult. Suddenly, just as Argus began to feel the Wanderer's grip slipping, Dormin's voice rang through the Fortress.

" _Search for its hidden vitals…_ "

The Sentry practically roared in indignation.

" _It"?! Oh, when I get a hold of Them…!_

His internal rant was interrupted when his attacker yelled back to the sky, obviously aggravated.

"What do You _think_ I'm doing?!"

" _We_ _ **think**_ _thou art being slow. Do you want thy wish granted, or not?_ "

Dormin did not speak again, but the Wanderer seemed motivated enough. Argus noticed that his grip became strong again, and he began crawling everywhere besides the shoulders. The Sentry continued to shake, but his attacker seemed undaunted as he continued to search. Finally, the Wanderer came to a stop on Argus' sword arm at the elbow, where the Colossus knew very well there was a gap in his armor. The gap had been created when the armor protecting his sensitive nerve-point there had just… fallen off. It had been rather recent, too. Right after the Sentry had verbally attacked Celobia. Now though, the nerve-point was exposed, and somehow the boy knew about it.

It only took one stab to make numbing flames run down Argus' arm. The pain forced him to release his sword, and it fell with a crash to the Fortress floor. Both as an attempt to dislodge the Wanderer and to regain feeling, the Sentry threw his arm back and forth forcefully. He was almost surprised when his persistent attacker actually fell off. Argus turned and followed as the boy sprinted away, then suddenly came to a stop. The Wanderer quickly turned around and raised his sword. Oddly enough, rays of light sprouted from the blade. It seemed innocent enough, but the Sentry realized otherwise when the beams focused on his right hand… the one that originally held his sword. Despite the fact that Argus was now trying to stomp on him, the boy was grinning ear to ear as he dodged the attacks.

Finally, the Sentry lost his temper and went for a more exact approach. When Argus slammed his fist down just feet away from the Wanderer, he expected a cry of surprise or fear. Instead, and much to the Sentry's confusion, the boy cried out in victory and leaped onto the furry, exposed palm. From there, Argus didn't feel much else. His arm was still weak from the stab to his nerve-point, so the Wanderer's stabbing of the Sentry's second and final vital went mostly unopposed. After only two stabs to the palm, Argus was finished.

He fell to his knees before falling on his stomach, arms and legs splayed. Unlike the Colossi before him, the Sentry did not gaze at the Wanderer introspectively or with wonder. Instead, his darkening gaze was bitter and filled with hate.

This was because Argus knew, with great certainty, that the boy would get his wish.

If he could have, Malus would have cried.

His chest felt so empty it was almost unbearable, and the loneliness was too great. Even the birds and lizards had left the Titan, either sick and dead, or sheltering for the thunderstorm that was felt on the air and now seen in the distance.

Malus looked to the sky.

"If you can hear me… my dear friends… I promise you. I will not fail. Even in death, I will not fail. Dormin will not… _can_ not… win this."

The Titan then turned his gaze to the Great Temple, which glowed through the crack in the mountains. In a weak form of defiance, Malus smirked.

"Don't worry, Dormin. I have some tricks up my sleeves… Though my final sentinel has left me, I can assure You, I feel as filled with hope as ever. The Colossi… even in death… will not be underestimated."

The Light's sarcastic protest was quickly cut off by fifteen voices roaring at Them, drowning out Their voice. And Malus knew he was not alone.


	27. Chapter 27

_**Lightning** _

_Okay... I could definitely live without this headache..._

Malus hoped the tone of his thoughts would make the voices shut up, but they just kept blabbering away. Memories, images, conversations, and arguments that didn't belong to him flitted about in his thoughts. Argus was silently simmering while Celosia voiced what she would be doing to him if they were tangible, Kuromori was arguing with Avion about what the cloud looked like above Malus' head, and Pelagia was commenting loudly that that same cloud was _definitely_ a tomato shaped scorpion. After that, Argus broke away from his silence and irritably said that Pelagia was _definitely_ a bumbling idiot. This caused most of the Colossi to go silent and the Masked One to vocally burst into tears. Then all the Colossi began yelling at Argus. Well, except for Phalanx, who just commented calmly that the Sentry's words were completely unnecessary.

Malus concentrated on thinking his own thoughts, tuning out the angry voices. When the Colossi were just an indiscernible buzz, the Titan relaxed and looked up at the sky. While the clouds in front of him were normal and sunny, a slight turn of the head revealed that there was a looming dark mass behind him. Malus shivered and looked forward. He was preoccupied enough with what he was doing. The voices and the thunderstorm didn't help with his concentration at _all_.

Ever since Valus had first been felled, the Titan had been working at corroding Dormin's mental defenses. There were now gaping holes in the unseen shield around the Light. This allowed the captured life-forces of the Colossi to partially flow freely over the land, in the form of spirit-like voices. The voices could enter the mind of anyone... except for the Wanderer. Avion had already shared with Malus that the boy's thoughts were corrupted beyond hope by Dormin. Maybe even to the point where he had lost all sight of his goal, and was simply a puppet of the evil Colossus.

But that did not matter now. What mattered was that the Light's defenses were weakened. Not to the point where Malus could release his brethren with a snap of his fingers, but to the point where the incantation of a lesser being could shatter that dark shield. You ask, "Well, why not the Titan? Why does he not have the power while a 'lesser being' does?". Quite simple, actually. Malus did not _know_ the incantation! Did I ever tell you Colossi were _all-knowing?_ No? Good! Moving on...

Most shamans and priests, however, knew every demon dispelling trick in the book. It was pretty much their job. This was important for the Titan's backup plan, as he knew very well now that a group of Wandering people was racing toward the Colossus Valley at top speed on horseback. It had taken his powers combined with Phalanx's to sense minds so far away, but the result filled Malus with hope. One of the minds was that of a shaman, one that knew how to re-contain Dormin under precise circumstances if the need arose. As for the rest of the Titan's backup plan... that will be revealed in time.

Malus' concentration was broken again as Phalanx began trying to get his attention. The Titan couldn't help but sigh in frustration.

"What _is_ it, my Dragon?"

_I just wanted to let you know that I sense the Wanderer and Agro are beginning to head here from the Great Temple._

"Agro?"

_That is the horse's name. After delving into that unusually intelligent creature's mind, I find it respectful to call her by name._

" _ **Her**_?"

_Did you not know? The boy's horse is a mare. It is Wandering custom for their people to ride and own horses only of the opposite gender. They believe women exude a calming love that tames and endears any stallion, while men evoke a flame in mares that makes them hardier and undyingly loyal to their rider. Either way, they still tend to say 'good boy' as praise. The whole custom is very sexual in nature. It's all very strange, in my opinion, but this topic is useless. What I was meaning to tell you is that the boy's emotions are very... unstable._

"What do you mean by that?"

_Though he has been surrounded by a dark cloud for some time, his emotions seem to be leaking past now. Apprehension... Grief..._ _**Extreme** _ _guilt... I believe by this point all the Wanderer has done is getting to him._

"So he is weak?"

_No. With every Colossus felled, Dormin transfers a small amount of the captured life-force to the boy. You could have defeated him easily before Dirge was killed, but our dear Sand-Serpent's added strength was the turning point. Now... the Wanderer is a force of power, darkness, and in a way, insanity... I wonder though, Malus. Why do you not know of these things already?_

"I have been... preoccupied."

An irritated voice spoke up from the background.

_Preoccupied shmoccupied. Phalanx, would you be_ _**so** _ _kind as to allow me to blast this infuriating feather-bag to bits? I'd ask Malus, but he's_ _**busy** _ _..._

_Logically, Kuromori, you can't blast her to bits._

_Why not?!_

_Well, first of all, you and Avion are both dead..._

_Hmph._

_Also, it would be wrong. This spiritual connection we all have should make you closer and help you see eye to eye... Not add to your usual petty squabbles._

_I suppose..._

_So will you apologize and end this immaturity?_

_Heck, no!_

Malus sighed again and focused on the mountains in front of him. He could feel now the not so distant presence of two lives. The Titan continued to concentrate on the approaching horse and rider.

Eventually, the two minds came to a stop where Malus knew there was a special door barring the boy's path. It was meant to only admit those who were worthy of seeing the Titan. In the times before, when there had been people, the doors had always been wide open. Everyone in the land was considered worthy. But ever since the Quake, the doors had been shut. Malus was almost hopeful they would stay closed when he heard the distant groan of hinges that hadn't moved for centuries.

"So he is worthy..."

_Not particularly..._

"What do you mean, Argus?"

_Remember that sword your Child created?_

"Megami forged many swords. She showed each of them to me, though."

_Well... remember the sword that she created in the Light Garden?_

"Ah, yes! I remember her asking Celobia and Celosia to help her take everything she needed up there. I recall Meg going on about capturing the Sun's light and Dormin's power within a sword to create the ultimate weapon. For protection, of course. That girl hated violence and war, but she loved to create swords..."

_Yeah, yeah... the point is, the Wanderer has it._

Malus was slapped out of his nostalgia.

"What?!"

_Apparently, the one person who escaped the Valley took the Sun Sword with them. Somehow the Wandering people must have gotten a hold of it, and now that boy is using it to kill us all off. It can also open those doors, so worth is just completely out the window._

The Titan ignored Argus' further talking about how the Wanderer was using the sword, and instead looked back a small memory.

" _Why the long face?_ "

_Malus was slightly concerned. Usually Megami was ultra talkative and happy when showing him a new sword. Now she just sat with legs crossed on the Titan's furry shoulder, holding the newly created Sun Sword in her lap, with a pensive look on her face. Meg looked up at the Titan's face, her dark brown hair whipping everywhere in the breeze._

" _This one isn't like the others. Instead of sitting in a case in one of the temples, being admired... This sword is going to do more. It's going to break many apart, and do bad... but maybe it will unite them, too._.."

_The girl then chuckled to herself._

" _Oh, you should just ignore me. I've been in that sunny garden for way too long. So what should my next project be?_ "

Malus realized he was being yelled at now. By all of the Colossi, actually. They were telling him to pay attention to the boy.

The Titan refocused on the two lives that were now making their way up the stairs to the bridge that went across the ravine that divided the mainland from the base of the Dias. He knew the bridge had lost many blocks and it was extremely unsound. But that did not stop the horse and rider. Malus heard the bridge falling apart and focused on the two minds carefully. Finally, there was one last crack as the final block fell, and a heartbreaking cry that echoed up to the Titan soon after it.

" _AGRO!_ "

Malus transferred his concentration solely to the Wanderer, ignoring the faint pulse of life that still drifted from the bottom of the ravine. Phalanx quietly told the Titan that the boy was feeling immense pain now, and to expect anything. But as the grieved mind began its climb up the Dias, Malus couldn't help but remember the Dragon's words from earlier.

_...men evoke a flame in mares that makes them hardier and_ _**undyingly loyal** _ _to their rider..._

"Hmm... perhaps there is something to that custom..."

The Titan's musing was interrupted by a crack of lightning from above. Malus looked up to find that the thunderstorm was suddenly directly overhead, and rain was pelting into his eyes. Everywhere around him was dark, except for the fifteen columns of light that shined eerily in the distance.

"Well isn't this a wonderful setting for a final battle...?"

_My Titan!_

"What?!"

_Pay attention!_

That time, all of the Colossi had shouted in unison. And as Malus returned his focus to the Wanderer, he could understand their concern. The boy had just finished climbing one of the ladder-columns that led up to the top of the Dias, and was now standing on it's very edge, hundreds of yards from the Titan.

Among the enraged yet encouraging shouts of his brethren, Malus growled menacingly and loudly so the Wanderer could hear it. He had not realized just how menacing he sounded, as waves of terror instantly radiated off of the Titan's distant, small foe. Flexing his hands, which were incredibly flexible compared to the other human-esque Colossi, Malus allowed the energy that crackled in his bracers to flow to his fingertips. With an inaudible sigh of determination, the Titan lifted his right arm, poised to attack, and waited for the boy to come into range.

There was a long pause. Wind blew fiercely over the Dias, flowing through the tunnels that ran through the immense stone structure. The tunnels, and the barracks built around them, were made to protect Malus' people from assaults by forces as strong as Colossi. There had originally been wooden and weak stone buildings everywhere, but by now they had crumbled and vanished.

The Titan watched the Wanderer carefully for what felt like an hour. Finally, though, the boy moved. But he did not move forward. He moved downward, onto his knees. A sudden torrent of emotions and images crashed over Malus, breaking out of the dark shield.

There was a girl, whose face had been shown to the Titan by Kuromori and Celobia, that was being forced away from the viewer. As a man in a shaman's cloak held her above the ground, one hand under her knees and one around her shoulders, other men that looked like warriors crowded around the two. They jeered at the girl as they ripped off her outer cloaks and jewelry. From the way the view was erratically bobbing about, it was obvious the boy was frantically trying to get to her, but being restrained. The girl gave the Wanderer a look of terror and resignation as the shaman carried her into a large tent, and the flap closed behind him.

This memory was simpler. All it consisted of was the boy carefully wrapping the dead girl, who now wore nothing but a simple white dress, in a large black sheet. How she died or where they both were was not clear, as everything was extremely blurry. The boy was probably crying.

There was a large splash as Agro fell to the bottom of the ravine. Everything was now tinged in a distorted darkness. The Wanderer cried out his beloved mare's name, staring down at the river that seemed miles below. Stone blocks from the now destroyed bridge slowly sank out of visibility. After a minute, the boy stood and turned to look up at the Dias, whose top also seemed miles away. Malus heard an only slightly audible, "Well, there's no turning back now..." as the image started to move forward.

Now, the memory was not really a memory. It was the Wanderer looking up at the Titan with absolute terror. He was muttering "Holy shit this thing is going to kill me." over and over at super speed. But as the realization that the Titan wasn't moving hit him, he felt extreme confusion. It was probably this on top of the terror and grief that made the boy crack.

Malus didn't budge from his position, his arm stayed steadily pointed at the Wanderer, ready to strike. Meanwhile, the other Colossi muttered quietly in his ear.

_Ha, coward! The sight of our Titan has brought him to tears!_

_Poor dear... Dormin's control has clearly damaged him beyond hope..._

_What are these memories? Who was that girl?_

_My Titan, you should pay attention. If my presumptions are correct, the boy will only come back to his senses stronger than before._

_Ooh, those light columns in the distance look_ _**pretty** _ _!_

_Shut up, Pelagia!_

_Oh, don't start this_ _**again,** _ _Argus. Let our Masked One think what he wishes._

Malus paid attention to Phalanx's words the most. As he watched, the boy who had been helplessly crouching on the ground with shoulders shaking was now standing up. A wave of fierce determination hit the Titan before the dark shield returned, and the Wanderer stepped forward.

When the boy was at the top of the steps that came to Malus' Dias, the other Colossi informed him quietly that he was in range.

_Fire! Fire! Kill him!_

The Titan let out a single bolt of energy from his hand, and it landed quickly and forcefully in front of the Wanderer, throwing the boy backwards several yards. When the Wanderer rose, he looked around, finally running up the steps and to his right. Malus fired, but the shot was blocked by a fallen column.

_He has found the tunnels! There was an opening to them next to that column!_

_Don't hesitate, my Titan! Continue to throw your energy at that wretch, and perhaps the earth will fall on top of him before he comes to the first barracks!_

With Phalanx's help, Malus followed the boy's life under the ground, firing bolt after bolt at him. It was to no avail, though. Soon the Wanderer came out to the barracks. There was a pause as the boy investigated and climbed the blocks that allowed him to leave the safety of the hole. But the Titan could not blow him away. There were strong remnants of the shields that protected Malus' people who were not able to enter the barracks. They stood unbreakably in front of each hole in sets of three and four, and each set had another entrance to the tunnels to the Titan's left.

Becoming visible to Malus, the Wanderer hurried the short distance from where he exited the hole to where he pressed up against the back of the first shield. There was another pause before the boy suddenly rushed to the second shield. The Titan's bolt did not land in time, and neither did the other bolts as the Wanderer ran to the third and forth shields, then slipped down into the tunnel entrance. Malus fired rapidly at where the life was.

Once more the boy became visible, but not in the next hole. He was at the side of the Dias, looking over the ocean from a small series of stone shelves. Unfortunately, the Titan could not fire on the boy because the protective shelves that stuck out of the Dias were lowered out of shooting range. However, he knew that there was a gap in the protection near where the shelf came to the next tunnel entrance. So Malus waited for the Wanderer to shimmy across the shelves. When the boy was visible, the Titan instantly fired.

A yelp sounded over the Dias as the Wanderer quickly rolled into the entrance, escaping the bolt by inches. Several of the Colossi groaned, startling Malus. He had almost forgotten they were still there.

_How did that..._ _**thing** _ _... get out of that one?!_

_He is smart and agile, you fool. How do you think he managed to kill us all?_

_So you're taking his side, Phaedra?_

_Of course not, Kuromori. I'm merely stating fact._

_Shush, Malus is concentrating!_

Soon the boy came out to the second barracks, which was only thirty yards from the Titan's feet. When the Wanderer leaped out of the hole and to the protection of the first shield, Malus was able to see the boy in greater detail. Now he could truly see why Kuromori, and all the other more recently felled Colossi, had called the Wanderer a wretch. Through the rain, the Titan could see that the boy was himself covered in darkness, but it was not created by Dormin. No... the darkness was blood. Black, oily, _Colossus_ blood.

The boy rushed to the second shield without being hit, but when he tried to run to the third shield, the greater distance threw him off. All of the Colossi cheered as the Wanderer took a bolt in the side and was rocketed back down into the barracks.

Five minutes passed. At first, the Colossi were quiet. They waited for the boy to come back up, unfazed as he had been every other time he had been struck down. But by the five minute mark, the Colossi were conversing excitedly.

_He is not coming up! Phalanx, is he moving?!_

_No. It would seem the small warrior has been knocked out._

_Ugh, you mean he's still alive? Why can't that fiend just_ _**die** _ **?!**

_If I may..._

_Yes, Celobia?_

_When I was killed, I fell on top of the Wanderer. Before I blacked out, I noticed that he was holding his side in pain, like he had sustained internal injuries._

_And once again, the mighty Lion inadvertently kills someone..._

_I'll kill you, Argus!_

_Celosia, just leave him be._

_Wait! He is rising!_

At Phalanx's call, the Colossi went quiet. Sure enough, Malus sensed that the boy was slowly beginning to move towards the blocks that allowed him to climb out of the hole. Everybody watched with held breath as the Wanderer crawled out of the barracks, his demeanor clearly displaying pain. The Titan waited as the boy dragged himself to the first shield and got to his feet, using the strong stone as support. There was another long pause.

Argus proclaimed loudly that there was no way in hell the Wanderer would make it. A chorus of "You're right" sounded in Malus' mind. Only Phalanx was silent, giving all her attention to the boy's weak form.

Startling every Colossus, including the Titan, the Wanderer suddenly sprinted towards the second shield. Because he was caught off guard, Malus was unable to fire a good shot.

Another pause.

_He was leading us on! That wretch was never hurt!_

_I would not be so sure..._

_But Phalanx-_

_I sense he is in great pain again. This time, it is physical. The wound that our dear Lion accidentally gave the boy has been ripped open inside of him. Only fierce drive, determination, and Dormin's will are going to keep him alive long enough to accomplish his task._

Malus was prepared for the Wanderer to move. Yet, somehow, when the boy rolled to the third and final shield, all of his bolts missed. The Titan could only watch numbly as the Wanderer slipped into the final tunnel entrance.

While at first mere disappointment resonated from the Colossi, they soon realized that something was wrong. That Malus was upset.

_What is wrong, my Titan?_

_Yeah, what's going on? Where does that tunnel lead?_

Malus could only mumble in reply.

"It leads... to underneath me..."

Every Colossus responded in some form of terror.

_Oh, that's not good!_

_Well, this is crappy at best..._

_What can he do?! What can we do?!_

_B-But... once the boy was on us... r-reached us... there was no hope... we... we were doomed..._

The word "doomed" echoed in the Titan's mind. As the Wanderer ran up the steps that led out of the tunnel, Malus growled to himself.

"No... I am _not_ doomed..."

The Titan could now hear sounds of heavy footsteps on the first level of his armor, around his ankles.

_Malus, why on_ _**Earth** _ _is your armor like this?! It's horrible!_

_How inconvenient..._

_Yeah, just look at it! It's like it's_ _**supposed** _ _to let people climb up!_

Looking down at his skirt-like armor, the Titan nodded.

"Well... yes. If I had to shout down to any human who wanted to talk to me, their eardrums would be broken, and my voice would be permanently hoarse. My armor was designed to be climbed by intricate layers. So if somebody wished to speak with me, they would climb the levels to my waist, then I would raise them by hand to my shoulder."

There was a chorus of "I see", as the boy slowly continued his journey upward. If Malus concentrated, he could start to hear the Wanderer groaning in pain with each notch ladder climbed, and breathing heavily as he circled the levels looking for a way to continue onward. Finally though, the boy came to where the armor ended, at the Titan's waist.

_Ha! What's he going to do now, huh?_

_He's got nowhere to go!_

_Squish him with your hand, Malus! Squish him!_

"But he'll just dodge, I know it..."

_Have faith, Malus! You're starting to sound dejected!_

"And I should take advice on how to handle myself from a lot that's _dead_?"

_... point taken..._

_Malus, watch yourself!_

The Titan looked down frantically.

"What?! What's happen- GAH!"

Startled by the pain that flared from the armor-less point on his back, Malus reached his left hand behind him and tried to place it where the pain was. But some mysterious force, likely created by Dormin, kept the Titan from touching his back. Just as he gave up and started to return his arm to its normal position, Malus heard a sudden cry of pain and felt pressure on his palm. The Titan quickly raised his hand in front of him to investigate.

Clinging for dear life, with teeth clenched in pain, the Wanderer was what Malus found on his hand. It was what he expected, but the Titan couldn't help but be held aback.

_Don't just stand there! Twist your hand so he falls off!_

_Oh, be quiet. You heard him, he doesn't want to hear from a lot that_ _**dead...** _

_Argus, you're just going to make him feel guilty, and it won't help the situation at_ _**all** _ _..._

As Malus began twisting his hand, he quietly mumbled,

"Yes, _thank you_ Avion."

The Titan curiously watched the boy struggle to crawl over his hand with each twist. Eventually though, the Wanderer seemed to have had enough. With another yelp of pain, he rushed onto the stone bracer that covered Malus' lower arm. He quickly looked up to see the unprotected band of fur that was just below the Titan's glowing energy bracer on his upper arm. Malus had little time to shake before the Wanderer stabbed the spot.

In an act of instinct, the Titan growled and tried to place his right hand on the wound. Once again the mysterious force kept him from making contact. He only had his hand there for a few seconds, but it was enough time to let the boy weakly leap onto his palm.

Malus began twisting his right hand while he listened to the other Colossi converse.

_Isn't there anything he can do?_

_There must be something!_

_Phalanx, do you have any ideas?_

_Not really._

_How can you be so calm?! This is terrifying! We don't want our Titan to join us!_

_In our lovely Eagle's words, it would not help the situation at_ _**all.** _ _Fear is meaningless in the face of disaster. Only courage and common sense can solve the problem._

_Oh, and that sure helped_ _**you** _ _..._

_That is beside the point._

_I believe the term is_ _**inside** _ _the point...!_

_Shut up, Pel-_

_Not you too, Kuromori! Leave him alone!_

Malus continued to twist his hand, shaking his head at the fact that somehow the Colossi had once again managed to get distracted.

_My Titan!_

"Yes?"

_He is getting angry._

Phalanx was right. Hot frustration was starting to radiate off the Wanderer. In a sudden movement, the boy raised his sword and plunged it into Malus' hand with a shout of,

"Stay _**still**_!"

The nerves in the Titan's hand numbed, causing it to stop moving. Without pausing to think, the Wanderer began firing angry volleys of sharp sticks from an odd wooden thing at Malus' head. Sticks bounced off of his face and right shoulder without causing damage, but when one of them dug itself into the Titan's sensitive, furry left shoulder, that was it.

With a growl, Malus once again instinctually reached for the sore. This time, no mysterious force stopped him. The boy stumbled from the Titan's hand onto the fur and temporarily clung to it as he caught his breath. Malus shaking his shoulders did not seem to faze his dangerously close foe. After a few minutes of unsuccessful shaking, the Wanderer finally stood and ran to the Titan's head. With one leap he was instantly on the fur of Malus' vital.

With each stab, the boy shouted something, and the Titan shook his entire body in vain.

"This is for Emon!"

Stab. Shake.

"This is for my tribe!"

Stab. Shake.

"This is for that journey through the mountains!"

Stab. Growl. Shake.

"This is for Dormin!"

Stab. Growl. Shake.

"This is for all those fucking lizards I had to eat!"

Stab. Growl. Colossi shout. Shake.

"This is for all the Colossi that didn't deserve me!"

Stab. Growl. Colossi shout. Shake.

"This is for all the Colossi that DID deserve me!"

Stab. Roar. Shake.

"This is for Agro!"

Stab. Roar. Weaker shake.

"And this... is for MONO!"

A final stab. A final roar. A final, very weak shake.

Malus held his hand to his head, trying in vain to keep in the blood and energy that kept him rooted to the land. However, he realized quickly that he had no energy left. And with that, he collapsed. His skirt-like armor cracked under his weight, but kept him standing. His upper body limply fell to the side. The dismayed, crying voices of the Colossi began to fade from the Titan's mind.

_Megami... I hope our enchantments work... I hope your insight has saved us... And I hope the last time I see sunlight was not a mere hour ago..._

The last thing Malus recognized before he blacked out was the Wanderer sighing and collapsing onto the comforting fur of the Titan's shoulder.

" _Yes! YES!"_

Dormin was absolutely ecstatic. Irreversibly, unchangeably _ecstatic_.

The twisted Light did not even notice Malus' life force joining the others. They did not care that every bird, lizard, tortoise, fish, eel, and plant in the land had suddenly become gravely ill, except for in Their garden. All They knew was that They were _free._ Nobody, as far as They knew, was going to _keep_ Them from becoming free. They did not care, They did not fear. They didn't even suspect that somebody would even come to try and stop Them.

Oh, how surprised They would be...


	28. Chapter 28

_**See the Light** _

" _Our Titan, you failed."_

Dormin chuckled as They got a growl in response.

Despite the fact that Their life-force containment shield was bursting at the seams, the Light couldn't care less. A small troop of Wandering warriors escorting a shaman to Their land? That didn't bother Them at all! No, it was those stupid voices that were driving Them _crazy_. Now that the Colossi had nobody to bother, they decided they didn't want to try and escape Dormin in any way. So now they were just jabbering away in the Light's mind.

_Hmm... so THAT'S what she looks like..._

_You already knew, Celobia and I showed you..._

_It's different up close! What I don't get is why she looks asleep and not dead._

_We've covered this! Dormin is probably gradually putting a bit of our life-forces into her. Since we're all here now, I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly sat up, alive and well._

_She's pretty! What was her name again?! Monroe?! Momo?!_

_Mono!_

_Hmph. I think I'll go insane if I have to share my thinking space with that masked blob for another minute. Or the pig, for that matter..._

_What did you call me?!_

_Oh, just leave him, Celosia..._

_Don't get involved, murderer!_

_*two voices* What?! Murderer?!_

_How many times are we going to have to go through this cycle? I swear, you three have been going on like this for days..._

_No matter what we do, we're doomed!_

_No we're not! Didn't you pay attention to Malus' thoughts?_

_Quite frankly, I don't think a few ancient enchantments on a deadly sword made by a naive little rich girl are going to-_

_**Excuse me?!** _

_You heard me, Malus! The idea that Megami could create such powerful reversal enchantments on the Sun Sword is outrageous! Despite being a Child, she was only human. And she was not a high priestess, the only person in the land who could possibly create those enchantments._

_Argus has a point. Meg was no Arna or Bone-Tsune... Despite being the Titan's own Child._

_Bone-Tsune was nowhere near as great as Arna..._

_How_ _**dare** _ _you?!_

_You all are hopeless. Argus, have a little faith. Malus, calm down. Avion, I don't know what's come over you, but please apologize to Basaran for insulting his Child._

_*three voices* Hmph._

" _We find your banter amusing..._ "

_Oh, be quiet, You..._

" _Kuromori, you are in no position to tell Us what to do... In case you haven't noticed, you are trapped, dead, inside of Our life-force container._ "

_Excuse me..._

_There are holes in Your container. We'll use that!_

_Ex_ _**cuse** _ _me..._

" _No matter what you do, We will win! There is no-_ "

_Excuse me!_

" _What?! Why do you bother Us, you old worm?!_ "

_I believe we have company..._

Dormin turned Their focus towards where Phalanx was looking, and saw that her words were true. Six men on horseback had just come through the High Entrance, and they made no hesitation as they galloped over the long, perilously high bridge. Within the minute it took for the men to reach the Great Temple's entrance, Dormin examined the newcomers. Five of the horses were a dark brown, very common for horses of the Wandering people. The most notable, though, was the pure white horse. It was obvious before the riders themselves were clearly seen that the white one was owned by somebody of great importance.

The riders were all men. All five of the owners of the brown horses appeared to be warriors of a lesser level, because the customary cloaks of Wandering men were cinched at the waist by belts. This was a symbol of being a warrior in training. Dormin's pawn had an un-cinched cloak, symbolizing full warrior-ship. The white horse's rider was a shaman, clear from the red un-cinched cloak and flowing robes underneath. Every man wore a mask, and every horse was almost definitely a mare, as dictated by Wandering custom.

There was a pause as the men dismounted their horses, and the door opening mechanism was triggered. As the warriors drew their various weapons and ran forward, the shaman walking in with purpose behind them, Dormin turned Their focus back to the temple floor.

_My, so many people!_

_Great, more Wanderers... just what we need..._

_Speaking of... where's_ _**our** _ _little Wanderer?_

_And now you're calling him "ours"? What's wrong with you?!_

_Come on, Gecko, this is no time for arguing with Avion..._

_I have a name, you know!_

_Yes, but it's long..._

" _Ignoring your petty squabbling, Our pawn will be here soon. Teleportation takes a bit of time and energy._ "

The Colossi continued to chatter annoyingly as Dormin listened for the six sets of footfalls coming down the spiral ramp from the entrance to the ground level. They took no time to admire the Greeting Pool, which travelers had used to water their horses. The offering was considered the first of many tokens of generosity the land offered. Instead, the men rushed into the main hall.

While the warriors rushed over to and examined Malus' idol, the shaman stopped a few yards away. He seemed frantic as he looked back and forth, eyes falling on the crumbled remains of the other Colossi's idols. This continued for about a minute before the final idol began to glow. One of the warriors shouted, breaking the silence that permeated everywhere except Dormin's mind.

"Lord Emon!"

The shaman turned in time to see Malus' idol shatter into hundreds of pieces. Dust flew, and the rumble seemed to last forever. When all was quiet again, Emon spoke, staring in horror at the pile of rocks.

"No..."

Almost instantly after that, the shaman perked up, as if he remembered something. He quickly turned toward the open end of the temple, and after a few seconds lifted his mask up slowly, as if in shock. The warriors turned with him, and all of their eyes seemed fixated on the altar at the end of the hall.

Emon mumbled so quietly only Dormin and the Colossi picked up on it.

"It's her..."

Phalanx's emotion-sensing had soaked into the Light, and They could feel waves of guilt and horror pouring out of the shaman as he walked towards the altar. Like they were on ropes, the warriors immediately followed. When Emon came to a stop in front of Mono, he only stared at her for a few seconds before going into action.

_What is he doing?_

_Blessing her, I think. For some reason he's speaking in the Dancing tongue..._

_Then it is medicinal? She's already dead, how could that help?_

_No... He's placing a spell on her so "every word spoken for her will be true.". A vague blessing, if you ask me..._

_Ah, he's making sure Dormin doesn't go back on Their word!_

_Then clearly he doesn't know Dormin. They are evil, but They don't double-cross..._

_Then what do you call what They did to the Wanderer?!_

_They warned him. That doesn't quite count._

_Oh my..._

_What?_

_I just thought of something. When he means "words spoken for her being true", he means promises._

_Yes... and...?_

_That could mean_ _**any** _ _and_ _**all** _ _promises made to or for her. What if the Wanderer promised Mono something before she died?_

_Then he would be forced to comply. He may even be saved from death for the sole purpose of fulfilling his promise..._

" _Shush, fools. The show is about to begin..._ "

Obviously, the Colossi saw him first. They were forced to look where Dormin looked. What they saw was an extremely battered Wanderer suddenly lying in the middle of the main hall. He appeared seamlessly and soundlessly. Only when he let out a near inaudible groan did Emon, who was still busy blessing Mono, sense the presence of the small warrior. The shaman turned around and gasped at the sight of the boy, causing the other warriors to turn also.

Their shock and disgust was understandable. Dormin's pawn was a deathly, undead white. Though, that could hardly be seen through the layer of Colossus blood that encrusted the Wanderer's clothes, skin and hair. He had two small, light brown horns sticking up from above each ear.

As the Wanderer groggily began to get his hands underneath him, to try and get up, the Sun Sword suddenly twirled down from the ceiling. It fell, bounced off the ground, spun a few times in the air, and landed point first the sandy remains of Valus' idol. All the while giving off a penetrating ringing noise. Dormin sensed Malus' apprehension upon seeing the sword.

Focus quickly returned to the boy, though. Because just as he accomplished shakily getting to his knees, Dormin called up the dead souls that were eternally stuck under the temple. Like when they had come to prompt the Wanderer to reveal his sword, the spirits crawled up from the floor, creating odd sucking noises. The boy continued struggling to get up farther as the dark spirits surrounded him, and Emon angrily spoke up.

"I cannot believe this! So it _was_ you, after all! Have you any idea what you have done?"

Emon continued speaking as the Wanderer accomplished getting to his feet.

"Not only did you steal the sword, and trespass upon this cursed land... You incited Dormin's ritual!"

A subtle hand signal had two of the warriors walking slowly towards the slumped Wanderer, one with a crossbow and one with small, generic-looking sword. As the boy began weakly stepping forward, the shaman shook his head in disgust.

"To be reduced to such a sight... pathetic. You were only being used."

The Wanderer turned his head up to look at Emon, revealing demonic, light blue eyes. At least, it appeared he was gazing at the shaman. To the Colossi, it was clear the boy only had eyes for the girl on the altar. Emon suddenly shouted an order to the crossbowman.

"Eradicate the source of the evil!"

Dormin and Phalanx sensed great uneasiness rolling off of the warrior as he drew his weapon, but did not fire. His sense of hesitation was too overwhelming. However, the hesitation slowly vanished as Emon turned to his men, sounding angry and panicked. He was pointing frantically at the Wanderer, who was slowly stumbling in the direction of the altar.

"Look! He is possessed by the dead! Those demons are controlling his movements and pushing him to infect us, as well!"

Turning to the crossbowman, the shaman yelled,

"Hurry up and do it!"

This time, the confused warrior complied. But the shot managed to miss it's mark, hitting the poor Wanderer's left thigh instead of his heart. The boy collapsed on his side, curling into himself and clutching his leg.

_It hurts! Gah, it hurts!_

Every Colossus was startled as the foreign thoughts entered Dormin's mind.

_What's going on?!_

_Why can we hear him?!_

_Hmph. It's good to know that wretch is the one in pain this time..._

_Shush, Argus!_

Black blood began soaking up into the wound, and the Wanderer looked back up at the altar with a grimace of pain. He barely noticed as the warriors began to fan out around Emon, and the sword-holding warrior from before stepped up to him with weapon unsheathed. Instead of appearing angry, the Shaman appeared sad this time as he gestured to the swordsman.

"It is better to put him out of his misery then allow to exist, cursed as he is."

Most of the Colossi gasped as the warrior stopped behind the Wanderer's head and pointed his sword downward, towards the boy's chest. He remained perched like this for several seconds. In that time, the Wanderer's gaze was focused upward at the ceiling, shocking the Colossi with his perception of their minds.

_So much of us has gone into him... he knows we're here._

_That pour soul..._

The boy's focus was suddenly drastically cut short. Because of their shock, the Colossi had missed the warrior finally plunging his blade into the Wanderer's heart with a battle cry.

For a few seconds, the boy remained limp, with his hands clutching the sword near its entry point. Black blood was spurting up from the wound. However, he began to move. This frightened the swordsman, who stumbled backwards. Emon looked on with the warriors in horror as the Wanderer got to his feet.

Though the boy used one hand to help himself get up, he kept the other clutched around the blade. As he turned to face the altar once more, Dormin and the Colossi got a view of the sword's point sticking out grotesquely from under the boy's shoulder blade.

_Mono..._

Every man except Emon moved away from the Wanderer in fright. After only a few stumbling steps forward, the boy looked up at the girl on the altar, panting with exertion.

_No! She's not alive!_ _**She's not alive!** _

The Wanderer desperately reached his free hand towards her, his fury and grief coming off in waves. He then looked down at his sword angrily.

_This has to go..._

With both hands, the boy forcefully pulled the blade out of his chest. This released the rest of the black blood, and his life force. The Wanderer turned his burning focus on Dormin and gave Them his dying thought.

_You..._ _**bastard** _ _..._

And then the boy fell, dead before he hit the ground. The sword fell from his hands and landed on the floor with a loud clang. As the Wanderer laid on his side with Dormin's black energy encasing him, Emon looked on with sad eyes. Some of the Colossi solemnly paid attention to the shaman, who had turned to the girl on the altar with a sort of reverence. The rest of the Colossi were either celebrating or crying.

_Yes! He's dead! Victory is ours!_

_In case you forgot, we're all dead too, so it doesn't particularly matter..._

_Party pooper._

_But it's just so sad! Even if he killed us it was for_ _**her** _ _! And when the poor dear wakes up, she'll be all alone..._

_I have to agree with Avion on this one._

_Amazing how a situation like this will get Kuromori to agree with-_

_Shut it! It's just that this Mono girl didn't do anything wrong! Nobody can punish her for falling in love with a guy who would kill sixteen Colossi to save her life! Even if the Wanderer was a wretch, he was Mono's wretch._

_Wow, that almost sounded sentimental._

_Will you two please-_

Unexpectedly, though, each Colossus was forcibly wrenched from their position. As they shouted out in protest, the Colossi were moved down to rest in the head of a suddenly tangible Dormin. The Light, during Kuromori and Argus' argument, had amassed itself around the Wanderer's body to form a huge, dark being kneeling on the hall floor. Their black horns nearly touched the ceiling, They had vestigial wings sprouting from Their ridged back, and They had pupil-less, evil looking blue eyes. While the Colossi watched on in horror from within Them, the warriors and Emon stepped back, terrified as Dormin stared at them unblinkingly. For the first time in a long while, the Light used Their physical vocal chords to speak.

" _Thou severed our body into sixteen segments_..."

_What? What are they talking about?_

_Meh. They're playing a game. Now shush!_

" _... for an eternity to seal away Our power..._ "

_Who are They_ _**talking** _ _to? Us or them?_

_Shut it!_

" _We, Dormin, have arisen anew..._ "

_Okay,_ _**that** _ _part is legiti-_

_QUIET!_

Emon kept his eyes on the Light, but shouted to his warriors.

"They have been resurrected!"

To intimidate the terrified shaman further, Dormin shifted Their hand so that Their face was closer to the men.

" _We have borrowed the body of this warrior, so that We may have a physical foothold in this world..._ "

Emon didn't seem to want to listen anymore, as he turned to his warriors and yelled,

"We must place a seal over this entire temple before it's too late!"

_My fellow Colossi! Now is our chance! Concentrate all of your mental power on making Dormin as slow as possible!_

_Can I help?_

_Uh..._

_Hey! You're-_

_No time! Fine, you can help!_

_Excellent._

_Malus, this is a bad idea..._

_Yeah! The wretch will just get in the way! Speaking of... how are you even in here, you little sprag?!_

_I should ask you all the same thing!_

_Great, we have another arguer to add to the group..._

_Everybody, shush up and concentrate!_

As Dormin tried to turn and attack the men, who were walking right by Them, They found that Their movements were drastically slowed. The Light mentally growled at the Colossi... and the Wanderer... as They helplessly watched one of the warriors remove the Sun Sword from its position in Valus' idol's rubble.

" _Fools! You prolong the inevitable!_ "

_Yeah, well-_

_Why isn't Mono awake?!_

Dormin smashed Their hand near the group of men, but only accomplished delaying them for a few seconds.

" _Don't worry, little Wanderer. We always keep Our word. Resurrection takes time, so be patient. And will you_ _ **please**_ _convince your not so little friends to give up?_ "

_Why on Earth would I do that?! I owe them. Now if You excuse me, I have a backstabbing demon to help contain._

The Light roared in fury. While several of the Colossi cheered, Dormin looked up to see that the Wanderer had kept him occupied, if for a few seconds, allowing the men to escape back to the spiral entryway. In desperation, the Light breathed blue fire after them, but it did not hit them. It was far too late for Dormin to do much of anything. As Emon and his warriors reached the top of the ramp, far above the Light's head, Malus snapped his focus from slowing Dormin to something else. Each of the Colossi, and the Wanderer, listened as the shaman's voice floated down from above.

"Ready my horse."

There were five sets of footfalls leaving the temple, then silence. But Malus knew better. He was reading Emon's mind, and trying his best to subtly inject spells into the grand enchantment that ran through the shaman's thoughts. Finally, as the Titan's attention returned to Dormin, the silence was broken.

"Be gone, foul beast!"

Once more there was a penetrating ringing noise, the sword's own death cry, as it twirled down several stories and landed with a splash in the Greeting Pool. For half a second, nothing happened.

But suddenly, the center of the pool began to glow. The light in the pool then expanded with a flash to fill it entirely. White lightning reached into every corner of the hall, and up into the entryway. Following it was a powerful sucking on Dormin, wind pulling the Light towards the pool.

Dormin cried out as Their soul was instantly pulled into the pool. The shape of the darkness surrounding the Wanderer's body quickly diminished as the Colossi let go one at a time. Finally, there was only the boy. He was still surrounded by a dark film as he struggled against the wind, trying his hardest to get to the altar. There were three Colossi that were maintaining the dark aura around the Wanderer.

_Dear, you must let go._

_Yes, our lives depend on it!_

_It's impossible to get away from the enchantment. You need to let go!_

_Mono will be alright! Trust us!_

_Yeah! The featherbag knows what she's talking about!_

_Please give in, little Wanderer. Though Avion, Kuromori, and I don't know what awaits you, I am sure you will see Mono again._

_Let go!_

_Please let go!_

_You need to trust us!_

As the boy's body slackened, he muttered,

"Don't worry... I always will..."

And with that, the Wanderer allowed himself to topple into the pool. Avion, Kuromori, and Celobia were sucked away as the boy vanished into the light.

Instantly, the light in the pool vanished, and the pulling stopped. Dust in the hall settled as Emon mounted his horse at the temple's entrance. Knowing full well what would soon happen, the shaman and his warriors began to gallop away over the bridge.

Soon after they passed, the first inner support of the bridge vanished with a bright flash. This caused the blocks over it to begin collapsing. Every support after it began to vanish also, forcing the horses to go as fast as they possibly could. But while this drama occurred, there was a far more breathtaking drama going on inside the temple.

I know what you're thinking by this point.

"What, the Colossi are going to get into another argument?"

As long as I'm breaking the fourth wall, I might as well point something out.

If you're reading this, and have stayed with this pathetic excuse for a story for this long, then you probably _played the freaking game and saw the ending_. Don't ask questions you know the answer to.

Ahem. End of fourth wall breach.

Though all of the Colossi had mysteriously vanished, a simmering Dormin had been returned to the hole in the ceiling. They shined down on the hall once more, though because all of Their power had been expended They found that They couldn't speak. Without any care at all of what was happening below, Dormin turned Their focus to the departing horses and riders, hoping maliciously that they would fall.

But if the Colossi had been there, they would have been looking on intently, probably cheering, as the Wanderer's extreme, impossible wish was finally granted. At the same moment the men accomplished making it safely to the other end of the bridge, there was movement on the altar. Slowly, as if waking up from a very deep sleep, Mono's eyes flickered open.

After a few moments of tired blinking, the girl turned her head to the side to glance at her surroundings. Then, as if in a dream, Mono pushed her arms down and sat so she was in a lounging position on the altar. There was confusion in her gray eyes as she looked around the hall. When her eyes fell on the light in the ceiling, the girl swung her legs over the side of the altar and shakily stood to get a better look at the odd phenomenon. The breeze that slowly flowed through the temple made Mono's simple white dress billow slightly around her ankles. She stared at the light for a minute, but turned when she heard a noise.

The noise was... low and behold... the Wanderer's beloved horse. Agro was limping up the steps into the temple. Her back left leg was hanging, completely useless. At the sight of each other, the girl and the mare came together. Mono held Agro's snout and petted it, looking confused. In return, the horse seemed very happy to see the girl. After a few minutes of this embrace, Agro seemed to realize something.

Turning away, the mare began limping down the hall. Mono, who seemed unable to talk yet, merely followed Agro with a concerned look on her face. After what felt like an hour, the horse paused beside the completely dry Greeting Pool. Quickly, the girl found what Agro had been looking for. With a gasp, Mono kneeled down and picked up the shocking contents of the empty pool.

In the pool was a newborn, horned, red-haired baby.

Emon turned back to look at the temple and the smoking ruins of the bridge that sprawled in front of it. While his warriors calmed their horses, the shaman spoke softly to himself.

"Poor ungodly soul. Now nobody shall ever trespass upon this place again."

Shaking his head, Emon spoke louder now.

"Should you be alive... If it's even possible to exist in these cursed lands... One day, perhaps you will make atonement for what you have done."

And as the shaman left the Colossus Valley with his men, he had no way of knowing that the Wanderer's atonement...

... had already begun.


	29. Chapter 29

_**Love** _

"Oh... Please stop crying...!"

Mono helplessly rocked the baby in her arms, knowing and dreading what it wanted. The baby was hungry, and his foster mother's small milk supply had recently run out.

Because of her discovery that her new home's fruits were poisonous (eating one made her throw up for days afterwards), Mono had not eaten for nearly a week. Or since she woke up in a strange place, found her fiancé's injured horse and a horned baby, and set up house in the garden above the hall she had been lying in. The reason Mono hadn't bothered to go out and find food was because she didn't want to leave the baby behind. Now though, she knew it was time to be brave and sensible.

After setting up a grass nest under one of the trees and placing the thankfully sleeping boy inside of it, Mono made her way back down to the temple's hall. She walked past the oddly new bridge ruins that still smoked in front of the entrance, the oddly damp but empty pool at the bottom of the ramp, and the oddly important-looking piles of rubble inside the hall. Just as Mono was about to walk down the set of steps Agro had used, something caught her eye. The girl curiously turned and instead walked up the steps to the altar she had woken up on. Looking past the altar, Mono saw what had caught her eye.

On the balcony behind the altar was a man. From what she could see, he was wearing a long, flowing cloak that wrapped around him snugly, with a long loincloth to match. The man had messy black hair that blew around in the breeze, and he wore no shoes. He was facing away from Mono, overlooking the plains in front of him.

Desperate for both human contact and directions to the closest non-poisonous fruit tree, Mono trotted up to the man and tapped him on the shoulder.

While she was expecting him to turn or at least look at her, the man did neither. But he did speak.

"Hmm... what brings you here?"

This caught Mono completely off guard.

"If you mean here in this spot, then you, I suppose. I need directions to a fruit tree, or something like that."

"Why? Aren't there fruit trees up in that lovely garden?"

"Yes, but they're- Hey! How did you-?"

"What's wrong with the trees?"

Mono looked down at her growling stomach impatiently.

"They're poisonous. If you wouldn't mind, I have a weird baby that needs me, and _I_ need food. I haven't eaten in a week and-"

The man startled Mono by suddenly turning towards her. He had an extremely concerned look on his noticeably handsome, square face, and his shocking blue eyes were full of compassion.

"That isn't right. You shouldn't be starving here. Come with me."

Mesmerized by the man's eyes, Mono just nodded and followed him. When they reached the bottom of the steps that leaded onto the plains, her state of shock and hunger caused Mono to trip slightly. Once more the man startled the girl by grabbing her arm lightly and keeping hold of it. He didn't even look at her the entire time. As they slowly made their way across the plain to a passage through the mountains, Mono examined the arm that held her. On the wrist was a beautiful, intricately carved bracer that had a band of amber-colored stone going around its center. A quick sidelong glance revealed a similar bracer on the man's opposite upper arm. When Mono looked up at the man's face, she noticed for the first time that he had dark-gray, bighorn sheep-like horns curling around his ears.

"What's your name, sir?"

As they entered the shadows of the passage, the horned man smirked down at Mono.

"I don't wish to tell you yet. But you'll know. Don't worry."

At this moment, an odd suspicion came over Mono. Not only was this man suddenly a bit _too_ mysterious, but the girl felt as though they were being followed. Mono voiced the latter thought.

Instead of smirking like before, the man stiffened and sharply turned to look behind them. Mono watched his eyes as they went from mysteriously unreadable to joyous. Oddly, at the moment where his gaze became joyful, the man nodded at something unseen. He then turned to Mono and grinned.

"Let's get going. There are friends I want you to meet at the fruit tree."

Now the man's grip on Mono's arm was stronger, and he was having them walk at a much more brisk pace. When they passed a cave with a natural column in front of it, the feeling of being watched returned. This confused Mono, because for some reason she felt like it was the lizards that cooled themselves in the opening's shade. Her odd suspicions only grew as one of them broke away and subtly climbed along the valley walls next to the quick-paced couple. When she turned her head to look at it, the lizard stopped and assumed a sunbathing position. Mono raised an eyebrow at the weird creature before turning her attention back to the excited man next to her.

"The animals here are unusual."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well, how long have you lived here?"

For some reason this elicited a chuckle from him. But the man did not respond. Mono would have pressed him for more, but her gaze had snapped to the fruit tree looming in the distance. It sat on a ledge in front of one of many small mountains now visible around Mono. Lush green grass spread in every direction, interrupted only by random stones, distant mountain ranges, and the valley entrance she and the man had just subtly exited. The mountains on either side amplified the sounds of the expanse in front of Mono, and oddly enough she could hear what sounded like pounding ocean waves on the horizon.

"There's the fruit tree."

Mono looked back up at the man, who was grinning again.

"Two of my friends are already there. Can you walk faster?"

While she was expecting to be annoyed at how forward this demand was, the enthusiasm in the man's voice made Mono amused instead.

"I'm trying my best."

After a few more minutes of speedy walking, they finally reached the fruit tree. Looking away from the man to gaze in hungry wonder at the fruits above, Mono spoke up.

"Is there any way we can get those fruits? Maybe you can climb up...?"

"Er... not the best idea..."

When Mono turned to look at her companion, she was a bit shocked. The man was leaning heavily on the mossy tree trunk, panting, with his eyes closed.

"Are you all right?!"

She received a tired smirk.

"Believe it or not, that was the farthest I've walked in a _long_ while. And I'm still recovering from something..."

Mono glared at him.

"Then you shouldn't have helped me! I would have understood if you were too tired. Although, I'm a bit confused."

"Why?"

"Because you had so much energy for someone who was 'still recovering from something'."

Before the man could speak, a chuckle and a voice sounded from behind the tree.

"After all these centuries, I still don't understand you, Malus."

Startled, Mono jumped to look behind the tree. There stood another man, who was leaning against the tree in a nonchalant manner. In one hand was a fruit that had already been bitten out of, and the other rested on the handle of a primitive looking sword that hung on one of his belt loops. He wore a short loincloth and a long cloak, with thick looking leather shin-guards and bracers. Unlike her rather young-looking companion - whose name was Malus, she now knew - the new man appeared in his fifties. His dark gray hair drooped listlessly around his square, rugged face. The man turned to gaze at Mono, revealing the same shocking blue eyes as Malus.

"Hmm... you look rather alive."

This brought Mono to raise an eyebrow.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Another chuckle from the odd man. Though this time it had a dark sound in it that made the girl step back a pace.

"There's a funny story about that, actually. You see-"

"Enough, Argus."

Mono turned to look back at Malus. Her companion was glaring fiercely at the older man, and though his voice had been calm, it carried a commanding edge. But this only deterred Argus for a few seconds.

"I'm sure your handsome friend has already told you you'll be meeting some of _his_ friends. There'll be all _sorts_ of buddies here."

"Argus..."

"Other rather nice looking guys-"

" _Argus_..."

"Oh, and there will be _tons_ of animals. Malus just has the biggest fetish for making friends with animals. Especially dangerous ones."

" _ **Argus**_..."

"For example... there's going to be a lion here! Make sure to stay away from him."

Mono's eyes widened.

"Why?"

"Because he's _killed_ people. And because he loves cold-bloodedly killing _so_ much, he's sure to try and get you!"

A comforting hand on her shoulder kept Mono from turning around to look frantically for the rogue lion.

"Don't worry, dear, Argus is just a bitter old fool. The lion is actually quite nice."

This startled Mono, because the voice was not from the man behind her. Instead, it was a kind, feminine sounding voice from above that spoke.

"He loves people, and is one of the most compassionate beings you will ever meet."

At that moment, a fruit dropped down from the branches to land directly in front of Mono's feet. Remembering her hunger, the girl picked up the fruit and began ravenously munching on it. She was so concentrated on the food that she didn't notice the light weight that had appeared on her shoulder. It was when she finished her fruit that Mono looked to see what was there. The sight made her drop the bitten core.

On her shoulder sat the most beautiful bird she had ever seen. It was a small eagle with cloud gray feathers, and a luscious crest that went down to the base of her wings. Her tail was unusually long, and her dark gray talons and beak were perfectly polished. The eagle had the same blue eyes as the men, and they were filled with understanding and kindness. It was also clear this bird was the one who had spoken from above. This astounded Mono, for she had never been told that animals were capable of human intelligence.

"Well, most aren't. But the animals you'll meet are different."

Her attention snapped away from the eagle, Mono looked back confusedly at Malus.

"Er..."

Oddly enough, the man seemed to realize he had done something abnormal and leaned back against the tree, staring at his hands.

"I know it's a bit early, but my name is Avion."

Mono turned back to the eagle.

"Oh, my name is-"

"Don't bother, dear. I know already. _Everybody_ knows."

This was even more confusing then everything that had happened before.

"Wait... _what_? How?! Did you...? How could you...?! Who is _everybody_?"

"This whole vague thing is getting on my nerves. Alright, kid, _I'll_ tell you what's going on."

Mono was ready to explode. The lizard from her journey, which actually turned out to be some kind of gecko, had managed to sneak onto her other shoulder. It was staring up at her with big, annoyed blue eyes. Completely exasperated with the talking animals, weird men, and long distance from the freaky horned baby that needed her to survive, Mono started yelling at the top of her lungs.

" _Where did you all_ _**come**_ _from_?! _Why are you even_ _**here**_?! _What_ _the bloody goddamn hell is going on in this_ _**godforsaken**_ _place_?! _And_ _**you**_! _You little lizard thing_! _What the_ _**hell**_ _are you_ _**doing**_ _on my shoulder_?!"

Instead of flinching away, the gecko blinked calmly up at the frustrated Mono.

"I'm sorry, is this seat taken?"

With a small scream, the girl ripped the lizard off her shoulder and threw it to the ground. However, she instantly regretted it. With another small scream, Mono hurried to pick up the stunned gecko, and cradled it in her hands.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry!"

Instead of replying, the lizard groaned and flipped over, revealing a brownish-white underside. Observing the gecko's belly, Mono spoke with a heavy tone of dismay.

"Look at the marks I gave you! Oh, they'll be there forever..."

Avion was also looking at the lizard's belly.

"Hmm... I wouldn't worry, dear. Those marks are scars, not injuries."

Upon closer inspection, Mono saw that her eagle friend was right. The marks were actually seven-pointed star like scars, one on his stomach and one on the base of his tail. She would have looked longer, but the gecko had flipped back over. After shaking its head, the lizard glared up at Mono.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you! All you Wanderers are ins- HEY!"

The gecko soon found itself pressed up against the girl's chest in a sort of hug. He cried out in protest, but was silenced when his would-be-assailant placed a kiss on his snout.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Oh, what's your name?"

Blinking up at Mono in confusion, the lizard replied slowly.

"Er... Kuromori, I believe..."

"This has been fun, but can we get back to that garden of yours?"

Mono looked over at Argus, placing the gecko on her shoulder.

"Of course. I just need some fruits to take with me..."

The girl stopped talking when she saw that Malus already had a pile in his arms. He smiled at Mono before beginning to walk back in the direction of the entrance valley. Argus followed him, gesturing at the girl to come also. Mono walked behind the two men, looking at both her shoulders. Avion was on her left shoulder, and seemed to be busy preening her wing feathers. Kuromori was on her right shoulder, splayed out in a sunbathing position. Mono took note of the fact that one of his eyes was half open. When she looked up, though, the sight she found was incredibly different than the one before.

Somehow, in the small amount of time Mono had spent examining her companions, a few more creatures had joined the group. There was a legless dragon spiraling gracefully above their heads, a large red-furred boar with sideways tusks was trotting along next to Malus' legs, and an odd looking man had also joined them. The man's cloak and loincloth were ragged and green with algae, and he had green hair that grew from the back of his head to the base of a mossy lobster tail that drooped to the ground. When he turned back to look at Mono, seeming to realize she had been staring at him, the girl gasped. Covering the man's face was a slotted, shield-like mask.

"Hey! What's wrong?! Have you seen how Celosia is glaring at Argus?! She _hates_ him! Haha! Don't be scared of her, though! Oh, and have you seen my rock collection?! It's _awesome_! Avion knows, right Avion?!"

There was a "mmph" of affirmation from the preening bird, who subtly turned her head away to preen her tail. Mono just raised an eyebrow at the masked lobster-man.

"No, I'll have to see it sometime."

"Yeah! You'll love it, I know!"

With that, the man turned away and ran ahead to walk with Argus, who grimaced at the oblivious creature.

When they finally exited the valley and got out onto the plains behind the giant temple, Mono saw something running towards them from a different valley opening in the distance. As it got close, Mono saw it was a beautiful light gray horse. The horse cantered past the three men, who didn't seem to care or notice, and turned to walk beside the girl. By now, the sight of stunning blue eyes on an animal didn't bother Mono at all.

"So you're the one."

The girl couldn't help but give a confused look up at the horse, who she now knew was a stallion because of his masculine voice.

"The one what?"

"Hmm... they haven't told you yet. Ah, and Malus is giving me a strong 'don't talk anymore about this' message. I'll be quiet."

Mono looked over at the man, and didn't see any sign that he had conveyed a message to the stallion. However, Malus did seem to recognize when the back of his head was being stared at. Slowing down so he walked in pace with Mono, the man spoke in a cheerful voice.

"Well, all the rest of my friends are already in the garden. They're all extremely excited to meet you."

The girl felt her bones freeze.

"What about that lion Argus was talking about...?"

Malus' cheery disposition was abruptly sobered as he threw a concerned look at Mono.

"Avion told you. The lion is very kind and a creature you could trust with your life."

Both the girl and the man ignored Argus' snort of disbelief.

After a few moments of looking down reassuringly at Mono, Malus looked up and grinned.

"My, how time flies!"

The man was right. Mono also looked up and found that they were climbing the steps into the temple. Up until that point, all the beings in the group had been conversing loudly and occasionally laughing. But as they walked past the piles of rubble in the giant hall, everybody was silent. When they passed the empty pool before the ramp, some of the creatures gasped. Avion took off from Mono's shoulder, and slowly circled upwards with the dragon as the group made their way upwards. When they reached the top, the eagle and dragon flew ahead to the entrance. Instantly, a cry was heard that made everybody speed up to exit.

" _No!_ Where has it gone?! Where is the bridge?!"

When the group finally made it out into the light, all of Mono's new companions froze and stared in horror at the long line of rubble that stretched into the far distance. Avion had landed on the edge of the entrance's platform, and was staring down at the rubble sadly. Mono looked up at Malus, who merely gazed forward with a solemn face. After a while, the man realized the girl was staring at him, and he turned his gaze towards her. His mouth twitched up into a slight smile.

"Come on, everybody. There are some important folks waiting for us."

After finishing their ascent up a shallow ramp, the group stepped through an entryway into the garden. Awaiting Mono was an unusual sight. Eight random beings were lounging around in various spots. A minotaur was leaning against a tree, passing its club from hand to hand in a bored fashion. Two completely different-looking snakes were coiled up next to each other conversing in the sunny middle. Sitting cross-legged near the snakes was a thin, gray-haired man who seemed to be rolling a large tortoise shell back and forth in front of him. Another man, with a large, light-gray beard, was standing under another tree with one hand on the flank of a grazing bull. But the creature that caught Mono's attention the most was a stone-gray, amused-looking lion that was lying under a tree only a few yards from the girl.

Why did it look amused?

Because the horned baby that Mono had tried so hard to take care of for the past week was between the lion's front paws, tugging on its mane.

Up until this point, Mono had believed everything Malus and Avion said about a certain lion friend. The dangerous sight before her, though, completely erased that from her memory. With a shout of,

"Get _away_!"

Mono ran up to the lion and kicked it in the side as hard as she could. While she expected it to leap up and attack her, the lion instead yelped and gently removed the baby from its paws before standing and backing away a few paces. Its big blue eyes stared up at her in confusion. The lion continued to watch Mono with its confused eyes as she swiftly picked up the child and cradled it in her arms protectively. Mono glanced between the baby and the lion for a few moments before she realized everybody was staring.

Her original group had spread through the garden, and now joined the new group in gazing at Mono in a mixture of amusement and worry. Mono flinched when she noticed the boar, whose name was apparently Celosia, had positioned itself in front of the lion and was glaring at her intensely.

"I don't know who you think you are, but-"

"Celosia, it's alright. I don't blame her."

"But her reaction-"

"I know, I know. We just have to get used to the fact that some of us might not be so... er... _approachable_. "

"Oh, don't try using choice terms with me! And why is that little sprag so important that she has to go around assaulting innocent creatures, anyway? You! You're not old enough to have a child! So why-"

"That's enough."

Celosia and the lion turned to look up at Malus, who was now standing beside Mono with a stern look on his face. Avion had landed on his shoulder, and she was giving an especially scalding look down at the boar. Celosia and the lion both bowed their heads. Malus then turned to the group of creatures that had gathered in front of him and Mono.

"There are several important things we all, including this young woman, must discuss."

A tense pause followed. While most of the beings nodded carefully, a few... namely Argus... appeared skeptical. To break the silence, Avion hopped from Malus' shoulder back to her original position on Mono's left.

"Dear, do you read?"

Mono raised her eyebrow.

"Of course. Back in my village I read everything I could get a hold of."

"Did you ever read anything on history?"

"Yes, that was actually my favorite topic. I loved to learn about-"

"Namely, dear, did you read anything about the Colossus Valley...?"

At this, the girl's eyes brightened and she grinned.

"Oh, yes! Even though Lord Emon described the place as being horrible and cursed, all the scrolls in the temple library described it as being a hospitable, fertile place. How kind and great the Colossi were. There are some of them I wish I could meet in person. I want to meet the beautiful Eagle, the noble Lion, and the wonderful Titan. It also wouldn't hurt to meet the Gecko. I bet he's sweeter than all the readings said."

Mono looked up from her reminiscing to find the mood in the garden had changed drastically. Several of the beings were chuckling, and the two creatures on her shoulders looked very pleased with themselves. However, one of the beings did not look happy. Argus walked right up to Mono, grimacing in her face madly.

"Those Colossi you're talking about? They _died_. No, wait... let me clarify. They were _murdered_. For what I can see now had little purpose."

Quickly the girl's expression changed into one of sadness.

"That's horrible! What kind of sick, cruel person would kill sixteen fantastic creatures... for nothing?"

At this, Argus grinned and gave a short laugh.

"How ironic. You know, Malus told me about how you were wondering about your fiancé. _He_ was the one who killed them. In the process, he became a demon. In the end, he met a suitable fate. The little bastard is with Dormin, now."

Those words set off several reactions. First, Mono fell to her knees in shock. Second, Celosia charged up behind Argus and hamstringed him with her tusk. Third, Argus collapsed in pain while the other beings circled around Mono. The horned baby began crying.

Malus kneeled down next to the girl and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. When she turned to look at him, tears already forming in her eyes, Mono was surprised to find a smile on the man's face.

"Don't cry, dear. While Argus was right, the Colossi were murdered by your fiancé, everything else he said was wrong. First, it was not for nothing. I'm not sure if you remember anything, but you were killed unfairly by your Lord Emon. The Wanderer... your fiancé... came here to bring you back to life."

Mono's eyes widened.

"Oh my... He wasn't joking."

"What?"

"I already knew from the scrolls that Dormin could revive the dead, and I showed the particular scroll to Wander because I thought it was interesting..."

Kuromori interrupted, looking slightly annoyed.

"Wait, wait... hold up. You're saying that your fiancé, who was from the Wandering people, was named _Wander_."

Mono blinked down in confusion at her companion.

"Wandering...?"

Malus then interrupted.

"We have different terms for things than you do. But anyway, this... _Wander_... heard from you what he could do?"

"Well, I asked him jokingly if he would kill sixteen Colossi to save my life. He sort of laughed and nodded, but I realize now his eyes were serious..."

Because Mono's face had taken on a devastated look, Malus tightened his grip around her in a sort of reassurance.

"My dear, the Colossi live."

The girl slowly turned up her gaze to look at the kind, horned man.

"What...? But you said..."

"There were three that placed measures to prevent many a bad thing from happening after the Colossi died. First was an important woman who lived very long ago. She created magical swords, most of which sat in temples being admired. But one of her creations left the land, at the same time almost every living thing was killed by Dormin. It returned here in the hands of your fiancé, and was the sword that felled all sixteen Colossi. But because the woman hated the idea of her creation being used to harm the world, she placed strong reversal spells that were sure to undo anything her sword had done if they were unlocked correctly.

"Second, was your Lord Emon. He came here to try and stop Wander from ending the Colossi. Unfortunately, he and his men arrived just after the sixteenth battle was won. But he found the incantations that would reverse the sword's doings, and he was able to stop Dormin in Their tracks.

"Third, was I. I placed spells that would insure the lives of the land's inhabitants. Mono, did you ever learn the names of the Colossi in your scrolls?"

Mono frowned up at him.

"No. Emon inked them out. I don't know why..."

Malus smiled down at her.

"My dear, _**we**_ are the Colossi. You now know our names, for the most part. Introductions, anybody...?"

Both the amazed girl and the happy man gazed up to find the beings who circled around them nodding their heads in a sort of bow.

"I am Valus the Minotaur."

"I am Quadratus the Bull."

"I am Gaius the Knight."

"I am Phaedra the Horse."

"I am Avion the Eagle."

"I am Barba the Bearded One."

"I am Hydrus the Sea-Serpent."

"I am Kuromori the Gecko."

"I am Basaran the Tortoise."

"I am Dirge the Sand-Serpent."

"I am Celosia the Boar."

"I am Pelagia the Masked One!"

"I am Phalanx the Dragon."

As if to top it off, the lion Mono had kicked earlier stepped up to her and licked her on the nose kindly, before bowing his head.

"And I am Celobia the Lion."

Malus nodded over at the still writhing man nearby.

"That is Argus the Sentry."

Mono glanced over at the Sentry, but gave a raised eyebrow towards the man who still kept his arm around her.

"So that means you are the Titan."

She received a grin in return.

"You read well. Now, I'm sure you have many questions for us..."

"Why are you all not... _big_?"

"That was fast. Well, I'm actually not quite sure. I believe it may be the fact that the sword's reversal spells were not quite strong enough to make sixteen Colossi fully immortal again. So now we're sort of... semi-mortal. Yes, that's the term. Semi-mortal."

"Malus, there is something else you need to get to."

Mono looked over to see Phalanx... the dragon she had seen earlier... who was wrapped around Pelagia's shoulders. Her calm blue eyes were focused on the Titan, and it was clear the scratchy but feminine voice had come from her throat. In return, Malus nodded.

"You are right. Mono... there is something else that Argus untruly said. Wander is not with Dormin."

Mono bowed her head.

"Then he is with our ancestors now..."

"No."

At this moment, the baby curled in the girl's arms began pulling on her hair, gazing up at her with confused gray eyes. Malus gently placed his free hand so the child's fingers instead gripped his own fingers. Without looking up at Mono, the Titan spoke in a quiet voice.

"Wander lives. _This_...is Wander."

* * *

At the beginning of this not-so tragic story, I told you there had always been peace in the Land of the Colossi.

Though by now you surely think that record has been shattered and all of its bits pushed aside with no hope of return, at the end of this story the record remains intact. Because when it comes down to it, there really had _always_ been peace. The people died not because of the result of their own mistakes, but because of the unmistakable evil in another creature's heart. Their own peace was never disturbed.

Even the Colossi were felled in a way that did not scar the record. After all, the story's anti-hero was just that... an anti- _hero_. His intentions were pure, despite the horrible results. Wander loved Mono so much the peace record cannot possibly be broken. And who can ignore the fact that the Colossi lived in the end?

No, it would take something much darker and much more unexpected to scar the record. Something that would sweep aside bonds and promises, and set many events in motion. But until then, always remember this corny, but extremely true fact.

Love _always_ prevails.

Always.


End file.
